


Different Forms Thereof

by daintylemonsquare



Series: Multi-fandom Night Circus Crossover [3]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Barely anyone is straight, Crossover, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Demisexual Will Solace, F/F, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Minor Original Character(s), Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-17
Updated: 2016-08-21
Packaged: 2018-05-21 06:32:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 55,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6041727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daintylemonsquare/pseuds/daintylemonsquare
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nico and Bianca di Angelo join Le Cirque des Rêves for a few reasons. First, to control their powers. Second, to find their father. Third, to belong somewhere. What they find along the way is a happy bonus.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Is That a Smile?

**Author's Note:**

> -I'm doing this thing where I copy the Night Circus and do some interludes in between the chapters. I like them. But trust that not all the chapters are like this. This is just me doing some world building.  
> -The next chapter will be a long one. I don't dick around with chapter lengths.  
> 

Imagine a courtyard inside a grand, black and white tent. It’s a circus, but there are no colors except for the patrons pouring through the entrance. Honestly not the strangest thing about it. The grass has been painted the same way. The juggler’s balls are black, silver, and white. No color even comes from the bonfire, which burns a bright, almost unsettling, white inside its large, ornate cauldron.

Imagine a statue in that courtyard. Only, it’s not a statue. If you look at him closely, he moves. But only if you look. You need to really stare to catch a twitch.

There are other statues like him on raised platforms. They all move, but in the barest of senses. Lovers that lean in to kiss each other but never meeting. A queen poses with a lavish gown seemingly made of snow. A woman accepts flowers, probably to put in her dress of flowers though all of them are either black or white.

You give her a rose for her dress. Or you assume it’s for her dress. You’re not sure.

It takes some time but you’re patient when you want to. You leave the courtyard to visit various wonders. When you come back, she is smiling.

You are fascinated by the other statues, less fascinated by the other majestic attractions in the entire circus, of course, but they still pique your interest. Are they animatronic? Are they real people? Are they projections? Do they even truly move? Are there secret puppeteers behind the circus’ folds?  What if they want to scratch an itch? What if they need to sneeze? You think this while you walk around the courtyard with a delectable cinnamon twist in your hand.

Then, you see this young man, standing on the platform. You feel a little unsettled by him though can’t tell why. Is it the way he stares into you? Is it the darkness under his eyes? Is it his clothes? He wears modern clothes – a hoodie, worn boots, fashionably torn jeans – unlike the other statues. Those statues wear styles that saw more action in the early twentieth century. But that’s not either, is it?

He doesn’t move. None of them seem to move but they always end up in a different pose after a while. He doesn’t. He stares into you with his hands in his pockets. Not at – _into_. His eyes follow you although his eyes don’t seem to move. It’s as if he hears your darkest thoughts. He judges them. He makes them worse. He’ll make them come alive. It’s as if he’ll be the one to bring you your nightmares when you finally sleep after a night at the circus.

It doesn’t help – or it does, depending on how you perceive him – that he’s standing in a shadowy corner of the courtyard.

People dare one another to stare at the statue of the Stranger. You think it’s because of his get up that he becomes scary. Like he’ll actually show up at your darkened door.

You try to avoid this statue.

Later, you see him. A different him.

Imagine another young man with shock white hair stuffed in a ruby red beanie. You think he’s familiar but you can’t put a finger on it. As you step closer, you notice more things. His arm is aloft, holding four black roses wrapped in sturdy red paper with a silver bow holding it together. The statue’s hand is on his. They stand still together for a minute or two.

The boy in the beanie leaves with a smile on his face. You don’t watch him go. You’re preoccupied. You walk up to the Stranger, arm still extended with his fingers just barely holding the bouquet. He’s different. He was never different.

He’s still paper white. He still gives your stomach a little turn. His lips are still bowed downward. But he’s not as unsettling as before. His expression has softened. No longer malicious. No longer penetrating. Not as dark as before. A spark of light has appeared behind his eyes. You think he smiles but he never smiles. It seems absurd.

Then again, he never moves. Not until the boy in the beanie with the bouquet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -This is set in a Night Circus world that is the same world of two other fics (Methur and Puckeberry). Unlike those other two, this fic will be a LONG ONE (don't you hate it when a supposedly easy slow burn love story gains a PLOT unbelievable) so I'll be referencing those fics. Don't be discouraged. It'll be slight mentions. You don't have to read those two other fics if you don't want to. Tbh, if those fics didn't exist, I wouldn't be writing this one. I was just bothered by the fact that I have two fics set in the same world but not a third one. The abundance of trilogies I've read REALLY affected me.  
> -There might be smut at some point???????????  
> -I've already written ahead so expect a semi-regular update. Depending on how fast I write this thing, I'll probs be posting once a week or once every two weeks. Hopefully it stays that way. Don't expect much since I'm also in the middle of writing an original as well as dealing with various existential crises pertaining to my life as a writer. Know that.  
> Why am I telling you all this? Well. I think it's important to let you know so you won't expect. Expectations lead to disappointment, after all.  
> This got real blue. ENJOY THE FIC!!!!!!! <3


	2. Bienvenue à Le Cirque des Rêves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introductions are in order.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to keep Hades's name but I just COULDN'T. I don't feel like any parent would name their child Hades. Maybe that's just me. I hope you enjoy!

Nico and Bianca di Angelo were a lot of things growing up.

They were rambunctious. Always going one adventure after the other around their family’s modest apartment. Always making a mess. Always causing noise. But they were also respectful. The moment their neighbors or mother asked them to stop, please, I’m trying to relax, they’d always apologize and move on to quieter activities. Nico with his action figures, Bianca with her books.

They were tight-knit. Bianca took her job as an older sister very seriously, even though she was barely a few years older and even when Nico started to insist that he wasn’t a little boy anymore. She would always point out that Nico would fight anyone who said something mean towards her or their mother, no matter how big they were. Nico was like a cockroach, Bianca joked. No matter how hard anyone would step on him, he would pop right back up and fight.

But that didn’t mean they didn’t get into little spats. Nico would argue that he was being protective while Bianca was being intrusive. The argument would escalate until Maria asked them why they were fighting. They couldn’t really answer. Then they would apologize and help their mother with dinner.

They were fatherless. Hector di Angelo disappeared when they were very young. Bianca remembered bits and pieces of him whenever she looked at a picture of all four of them. She knew he was kind, if not somewhat closed-off. She knew that he wouldn’t have left for no reason. There _had_ to be one. Maria thought this too. Meanwhile, Nico had no recollection of him. Whenever he saw other kids playing with their father, he would get cranky. But Bianca and Maria would always be there to cheer him up. He didn’t complain too much about Hector’s absence.

They were different. “Weird” by other people’s standards, mostly because their mother was a mortician, partly because they gave off a vibe that didn’t sit well with people. “Special,” Bianca would say. “ _Special_ ,” some older adults would spit whenever they were asked about the di Angelos. Bianca tried to convince Nico to her side of the definition.

From the outside, if someone saw them walking around in the park, they’d think of them as any other family they’d come across. They’d wonder where the dad was but that didn’t matter. Sometimes it did. Oftentimes, it didn’t. The observer had other things to do.

There were days when people were more inclined to ask.

Being a mortician wasn’t a standard job. Maria wasn’t bothered. After all, _someone_ had to do it. “But Maria,” a person would say, surprised, “you don’t look like a mortician!”

Then she would say, smiling in her bright yellow dress during the spring time as her son meekly gave her a handful of flowers he picked, “Well, not right _now_. I’m out with my kids! Why in the world would I dress for work when I’m not there?”

A single mortician mother. Not as far-fetched as, say, that circus that was travelling the country. It was the new normal. There was nothing wrong with being a single mother any more there was anything wrong with a circus that didn’t make any sense, realistically speaking. Or, speaking as someone who refused to believe that magic existed.

But _then_ people started noticing how Bianca, a fine young lady, was talking to the air. It was cute when she was younger. “Oh look, she has an imaginary friend! How cute! Now _I_ want kids.” A person would say. This turned into, “Why is that tween talking to herself? I am concerned and terrified, but mostly terrified.”

While other people saw her talking to the air, she was talking to a transparent person who talked back.

Bianca di Angelo was always nice and therefore ready to talk. The transparent people were usually so happy to be able to talk to someone and she _loved_ making other people happy. This did not, however, make the living happy. Whenever humans were disconcerted, they tend to push whatever it was that made them feel that way.

They pushed hard. With words. Scathing looks. Sometimes with their hands.

It didn’t make Nico happy either. Mostly because he didn’t like the way kids their age called Bianca names and the way adults grimaced whenever she was around. Partly because he couldn’t communicate with the dead like his sister.

One day, he made something float. He was so excited. Finally, something Bianca couldn’t do better than him because she didn’t have it!

The same day, Bianca broke the TV while crying over _Titanic_ for the hundredth time while the room turned ice cold.

“ _Seriously_?” Nico muttered as Bianca looked around confused.

He knew it was such a silly thing, being jealous of his older sister. She was older, after all. She was _supposed_ to be better. Thus, Nico contented himself with fighting with everyone. Thankfully he didn’t have to fight his mother, who seemed somewhat nonplussed by their abilities.

They came to the quite obvious conclusion that all this was because of their absent father. When they asked, Maria would answer. She knew her kids weren’t stupid. She told them all that she knew, which wasn’t much. This frustrated Bianca and Nico. It frustrated Maria more but they didn’t have to know that. All she had were fond memories of a man she loved but apparently didn’t know. A man who disappeared after a fearful goodbye. She didn’t like to think about it unless she was drinking.

She didn’t like to drink.

“I wish I could help you.” She stammered one night, failing to remain stoic under all the new pressures her children’s emerging abilities. “I wish I would’ve made him stay. Ask what was wrong. _Something_!”

The siblings each sat on one side of their mother on the couch. Nico wrapped his arms around her waist. Bianca held her mother’s hands. Maria chuckled to herself. “I should be the one doing this, not the other way around.”

“Mom, I’m twelve now.” Bianca said. Her actual twelfth birthday was a couple of weeks off but Maria chose not to point it out. “I think it’s a good age to start helping you.”

Maria touched Bianca’s face, her heart clenching with a mix of pride and sadness. “My dear, you’re still my baby. Both of you are, no matter what age.”

Bianca smiled. “I know. I mean, I don’t like it, and Nico doesn’t either, but we like that you only do it while we’re not surrounded by our friends.” Nico nodded against his mother’s back. “I’m just saying,” Bianca continued, “that it doesn’t matter that Dad’s not around. These powers aren’t… _so_ out of control anyway. We’ll do fine. We’ll find ways to practice without breaking anything else.”

“And maybe when we’re older we’ll try to find Dad.” Nico mumbled.

“Yeah.” Bianca nodded. Maria’s eyebrows knit together. “He’s alive, Mom. I can feel him…in a way. I don’t know where he is or how he is but I’ll know if he’s dead. Hey…” Bianca wiped the tear that already made its way down Maria’s cheek. “Please don’t cry. He’s alive. Shouldn’t you be happy?”

“Yes, I know…I am…Just don’t grow up too fast, okay?” Maria said. “Promise me?”

Bianca and Nico promised.

They weren’t perfect, they knew that. They weren’t normal, no one wanted them to forget that. Life was difficult. Rent was expensive. Food was expensive. School was a nightmare, especially for Nico.

While their powers could’ve been more cumbersome to control, it wasn’t like they had it all under lock. Sometimes they slipped up. When they slipped up, they had to cover it up in case they would have some _X-Men_ type situation on their hands or they would get dragged to _Area 51_ for testing or they would get burned at the stake.

Bianca was better at this.

She always had her phone up to her ear whenever she spoke to a ghost. She always made sure to put it on silent.

Whenever something moved or floated because of her, she could easily play it off as someone else’s delusions. As if it never happened. When the lights flicker, when the temperature goes south, when things break, she would always blame the school’s lack of funds – or _any_ establishment’s lack of funds for that matter. Bianca knew it was easier to brush it off than make excuses for it.

Nico was not at adept.

He would awkwardly try to explain why the pencils were flying. He would say “It wasn’t _me_! Why would it be? I mean, _he_ started it!” when bad luck attacks someone who teased him. He was already strange before, having been one of the quieter kids. His teachers would recommend that he try going out more and talk to people – usually to Maria, sometimes to Bianca – but they didn’t think defending the alleged moving shadow for “tipping over the TV rack” was the right way of going about it. His suspicions straddled paranoia, which did nothing to help him seem more believable.

It did nothing to help him keep his friends.

And, unlike Bianca, Nico’s powers had a more direct effect on other people. It took him a while to figure it out himself. At first he thought it was puberty.

He must’ve stunk. That was what happened during puberty right? You stank? Everyone always looked at him funny or made a grossed out noise. His body was betraying him even though it was already screwing him over with these random abilities.

He realized it wasn’t actually body odor after bankrupting himself with all the sprays in the world.

He was breaking out. That must’ve been it! He only breaking out at school and his skin would fix itself as soon as he got to a mirror!

Even with their powers, Nico couldn’t convince himself that the whole skin thing was true. Surely he’d notice if his face changed at all.

“Am I ugly?” Nico asked Bianca one day when he got out of the shower.

“No! Of course not! Why would you say that?” Bianca replied, incredulous.

“Nothing…” Nico mumbled.

Then what was it?

Nico knew he wasn’t like other boys. He was scrawny, pale, and quiet. Not a lot of kids in his school particularly enjoyed _Mythomagic_ cards the same way he did. He stopped bringing his cards to school after witnessing someone else’s deck ripped to shreds by the older kids. But, he wasn’t _that bad_ , was he? He put his foot in his mouth more often than he wanted to – _damn these powers_ – but there were _plenty_ of awkward kids his age and no one looked at them like _they_ murdered someone. Even the _parents_ were herding their kids away from him.

It wasn’t Bianca either. She always made a point of them being seen together in an effort to show other people that her brother was a normal boy who should be their friend. She didn’t even act like her usual, sisterly way whenever they were together. If she were more desperate, she’d demand people to play with her brother. All of this she did in vain. Nico knew this. No one who mattered at their schools saw them together. A few of the awkward ones did. They were smart enough to know that being friends with him would only serve to get them bullied more.

And that was how Nico di Angelo found out how a lost cause felt like. At eleven too. What a shame.

To accept that all of these “normal” kids would never be his friends was a sad thing to put on such a young heart.

Bianca noticed. How could she _not_ notice? Nico was always alone. Nico didn’t speak up as much as before. Nico was practically _dragging_ himself to school when he used to just complain the whole time he was getting ready. Now, he wasn’t getting ready on purpose.

She wished she could help out more. She knew it had something to do with his abilities. Since she started middle school, she hasn’t had much of a chance to do that. Her friends kept her from picking Nico up after school so they could go home together. They hung out a lot at each other’s homes. Actual homes too. Not just tiny apartments.

They were fine, her friends. They had some notoriety at school, being pretty and everything so people chose to ignore some of Bianca’s slips. They didn’t seem horrible by her standards. Sometimes they helped her with her homework. Mostly, she helped them with theirs.

Until one day, one of the girls brought up this strange pale kid she saw when she was “forced” to pick up her brother. Another confirmed the story, having seen the same pale kid at a school function. They talked about how creepy he was. They poked fun about his clothes, his hair, his incredibly overused cologne. They made theories of what kind of home he lived in – “if he had one,” they laughed. They predicted his serial killer pedophile rapist future.

Bianca heard it all. She tried to ignore it for the sake of blending into all of the regular people. This was what regular people did, right? When presented with someone eerie, they created stories, horrible stories, to make themselves feel better.

Bianca laughed a fake laugh in the beginning. It made her want to apologize to Nico just for doing it. However, those last two jabs to Nico’s reputation were the straws that broke her back.

The girls’ laughter was cut short when the table caved in the middle and their chairs fell apart except for Bianca’s. Food and drink seeped into their jeans and skirts. They shrieked. Everyone watched as they shrieked. They laughed too. Bianca kept herself from enjoying the laughter too much. She just wasn’t that kind of person. She shouldn’t be.

“Bianca, what the _hell_ are you doing? Help us!” One of them demanded.

Bianca stood up, gathered her things, and licked her lips. “That kid you’re talking about is my brother. I can’t sit idly while you rip him to shreds. Enjoy your lunch.” She said loud enough for everyone around them to hear. The girls’ eyes went wide. Bianca wanted to take it all back but if Nico didn’t have fun in school, neither should she. It was unfair of her.

Bianca asked Maria to give her “Pick Up Nico Duties” back, to which Maria consented. Nico didn’t like it. He also liked it. It was a confusing thing to feel but he was glad to see a loving, caring face at the end of a torturous day.

Getting used to being alone wasn’t as easy as it sounded.

They knew that it wouldn’t be easy, being ostracized that way, but they never really expected how much patience they would need.

Those girls Bianca left spread rumors about her and her “freak brother”. No one wanted to even sit by here. Although, she found a place in her middle school with the other outcasts. The problem was relating to them. They were all sad about something or angry about something. Bianca felt unproductive when she felt those. Nothing good could come from being constantly sad or angry, she believed. They always wore black for some reason. Bianca was their sunlight and color. They didn’t like that.

Some of them secretly did though.

Bianca _tried_ two things. First, she tried to be like them. Then she thought it was too taxing. Second, she tried to cheer them up. That almost cost her a safe place to eat lunch at.

They reached a compromise by agreeing not to bother one another for as long as they live. Unless it was homework. Everyone needed all the help they could get in math class.

Nico on the other hand…

Children were cruel. They were afraid of him, which meant they needed to fight him in some way to assert dominance. Who was Nico di Angelo anyway but a small stick of a human? _Why_ should _they_ be afraid of _him_? It was ludicrous! Most of them didn’t even _know_ how to spell ludicrous but they thought being afraid of Nico was the dumbest thing ever.

Still, they feared him. The more they feared, the more they defended themselves offensively. They more they attacked, the more Nico hated them. The more Nico hated, the harder his powers were to control. As his powers went haywire, his peers feared him more. Nico didn’t know he was stuck in a malicious cycle. All he knew was if he didn’t fight back, he wouldn’t be anything at all.

Bianca often picked him up at the principal’s office. Often with Maria. They would always side with him, knowing that he did it to defend himself. Maria would often chide him for going a touch too far. Broken tiles. Flipped over chairs and tables. Moving shadows. The kid _insisting_ that he saw Nico’s eyes turn black.

He needed to be more careful.

Nico really didn’t care anymore.

Then they would get some ice cream.

The di Angelo siblings couldn’t find a place for them among the normal outside their mother and each other. For a while, they contented themselves with that. Even if Bianca was thriving academically and she still had some semblance of a friend group _and_ her powers weren’t as terrifying as his, Nico couldn’t bring himself to resent her. She was all he had, apart from their mother.

And Maria could only help him so far. She didn’t have powers. She didn’t have any idea how to help them control their powers. With Bianca, he could figure that facet of himself out.

They had fun practicing their powers. The neighbors would complain that they were older kids now, they shouldn’t be running around the apartment, playing like they used to. Originally, they would find a quiet activity. Now, they would put on devilish grins and play with the complainer.

Maria didn’t have to know.

It was isolating, it hurt, it made school more unbearable, but in the end, they had each other.

All that changed when the circus returned.

* * *

_February 2007, Portland, Oregon_

On top of what used to be a large expanse of grass stood towering tents of black and white surrounded by a wrought iron fence. Behind the circus’ gate was an intricate, mind-boggling clock that counted the hours before the circus opened with a tiny juggler juggling tiny silver balls, adding one more at every hour – among many dreamlike mechanisms the clock had.

The circus opened at night. That was strange, wasn’t it? Never mind the clock! More mysteries sat _inside_!

Circuses were strange all-together in this day and age. What was the point of a circus when there was the internet and theme parks and video games and _Apple_ products? Who even went to circuses? Crazy people. Immature people. Old people. All of these insults came from the cynical few that scowled at the very idea of a circus in the twenty-first century. And cameras weren’t allowed! _How on Earth_ were people going to post this on _Facebook_?!

“What are they hiding?” People would whisper to one another whenever they read the sign.

“Why do they keep telling us to leave the cameras out when technology doesn’t work properly in there?” Some would comment, a little annoyed as they lined up.

“What does exsanguinate mean?” Other people would ask during the daytime when the circus was closed and they saw the threat under the “no trespassing” sign.

“No idea.” Someone would reply. “It sounds painful though.” That quip lasted since the circus’ inception.

“It means to drain you of your blood, you dolt.” Someone would roll their eyes.

Despite the many attempts to “expose” the circus’s secrets, none truly prevailed. No one was ever found exsanguinated – no body, no murder –  so that was a small comfort. People have tried but there was always other people apart from the staff of the circus itself who always went out of their way to make these attempts stop. It would get rowdy. There would be some fists flying around, maybe an expensive, high definition camera broken or stolen, but the staff never seemed to care about that. They would even smile a hidden smile whenever this happened.

Bianca fancied herself to be one of those people, so did Maria. _Rêveurs_ , they were called. Followers of the Circus of Dreams or _Le Cirque des Rêves_ , as was written above the gate and lightbulbs of varying sizes. Many, if not all _rêveurs_ , welcomed her as a new addition, despite being eleven years old at the time she first walked through the tent’s folds. It was one of the many, many reasons why Bianca wanted to be one of them. Their love for the circus amplified her own. Maria had to drag her away from a conversation with an old man who was recounting his memories because the sun was rising.

“One day,” Bianca said to Maria as she was getting tucked into bed, “I wanna follow the circus just like them and have stories of my own.”

Maria smiled fondly, stroking her daughter’s cheek. “Yes you will.”

She didn’t know how right she was at the time. She didn’t know what would happen this time around when she brought her children to the circus on a school night.

She’d promised them a free day tomorrow. Nico and Bianca were thrilled. It was the first time she’d seen their eyes light up the last few months. How could she not give them a day off?

They arrived early to get a spot near the gates. Soon, there would be a crowd. People from nearby towns, even _cities_ , had plans to flock to the circus. Maria didn’t want them to miss anything.

All the _rêveurs_ congregated near the front, wearing black, white, or gray as was customary, to blend into the circus and its performers. The only thing that set them apart was a splash of bright red. Scarves, hats, shoes, jewelry. In warmer months, they’d bring red flowers with them. Bianca wore a ruby broach that Maria lent to her on top of a fraying black sweater. She wished the circus came a couple months later. She could’ve put together a flower crown like the first time she visited. Nico wanted to wear all-black but, after Bianca’s insistence, he wore what he deemed to be an ugly red jacket.  

“If you _just_ wear black, people will think you’re part of the circus!” Bianca sang as they prepared.

“Not likely.” Nico countered. “I’m as boring as boring can get.”

Bianca smirked, tossing a shoe at him. Nico put his hands up to stop it in mid-air. “Sure. Boring.”

Nico rolled his eyes. “I _get it_. You’re _smart_.”

Now Nico felt a little awkward standing up front and not engaging anyone as Bianca and Maria have begun striking up conversations left and right. Not that anyone seemed to want to. His powers were still in full effect. People eyed him warily, as if he were carrying a bomb underneath his clothes. He worried this would continue to be the case once they entered.

The memory of the circus seemed too vivid despite not thinking about it the last couple of months. He remembered the towering Cloud Maze. His tongue tingled when he remembered the stall that sold the most luscious hot chocolate beside the tea one. The white bonfire had burned itself behind his eyelids. No one could forget that. And the illusionist. Even if their powers hadn’t manifested more outwardly at the time, Nico knew magic was real because of him.

He also remembered Bianca forcing a flower crown on him.

He hoped that everyone would be too distracted by the circus itself to worry about him.

Maybe if he tried to become as nonexistent as possible, no one would notice him. Hunch his shoulders. Put his head down. Tuck his hands into his ugly jacket’s pockets. It seemed to be working on the old woman Bianca and Maria were talking to. Then again, Bianca had her preoccupied with question after question.

“ _Woooow_ ,” Bianca said in a big cloud of cold, “that long? You’ve been following the circus for _that long_?”

The old woman nodded. “Yes. That long. On and off, mind you, but I don’t have a regret in the world. Not one in fifty years.” She said proudly.

“ _Wow_.” Bianca reiterated, in case the woman – Hester – couldn’t yet comprehend how amazing that was.

“Believe me,” Maria laughed fondly at her daughter, “if I could afford it, I would trail behind the circus an entire summer with my kids!”

“Oh deary, do it while you still can.” Hester advised. “Soon they’ll be off to college and will be too ‘professional’ to even bother with anything so ‘frivolous’ as the circus.”

“Never!” Bianca said, actually insulted.

“That’s my girl.” Maria wrapped her arm around Bianca. As Bianca asked more questions, she was prone to that, Maria leaned towards Nico. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah. Just got nothing to say.” Nico shrugged.

“You sure? Are you cold? Or uncomfortable?” Maria asked. “Or are you too cool for the circus?”

He groaned. “ _Mom_.” Maria chuckled and Nico smiled. Before he could argue further – the Circus of Dreams was probably the last safe place for someone like him – Bianca and Hester made wordless exclamations of delight. A hush had fallen over the crowd. Everyone was facing the gates.

It was borderline freezing that night but somehow suddenly everyone’s collective anticipation turned into palpable warmth. All the complaints disappeared into the whistling and popping of the lights. There was a squeal up front, which, with the _rêveurs_ standing there, could’ve come from anyone of any age. Bianca went up on her toes to see over everyone’s shoulders. Hester did too. Nico craned his head, eyes widening with wonder as the lights squealed and burst into a shower of sparks. Maria wished she could take a picture of him. It was rare to see an expression like that from him these days.

There, written in intricate calligraphy, was the circus’ name. Everyone cheered. Bianca grabbed Nico’s hand as Maria held her children’s shoulders. The gates shuddered open. The ticket man appeared in the booth.

“See you around, Hester.” Maria called as she shuffled forward as fast as she could manage.

Hester laughed. “Naturally! I’ll be here _all_ _night_.”

Meanwhile, Nico leaned towards Bianca. “You’re shaking…?”

“It’s fine. I’m just _really_ excited.” She replied with the widest grin in the world.

Nico didn’t think it would get wider until they got to the ticket booth and she let out a hearty “Hello!” It got wider still as they entered a darkened hallway. Needle thin lights prick the surface like constellations, guiding their path. Then Nico thought Bianca’s face was going to burst when they entered the courtyard. Nico’s cheeks hurt too, mirroring her expression.

“Here we are.” Maria said, squeezing their shoulders.

Instantly, their eyes went to the enormous cauldron at the center with its clawed feet and the soft looking metal that twisted and curled and wove into one another along the top, like the cauldron exploded when they lit the bonfire. It must’ve, surely it _must’ve_ , since the flames weren’t red or yellow, but _white_. Whatever chemicals they used to make it so must’ve caused the cauldron to almost come apart.

Two years ago, Maria had asked the older _rêveurs_ how the circus made the fire white. “Magic.” They said with a wink. Maria laughed. Bianca already _knew_ it was magic. Nico hadn’t taken his eyes off of it until they left for one of the many hallways leading into many other tents.

Of course it was magic.

The smell came rushing in after the initial shock of the bonfire started to fade. Hot buttered popcorn. Cinnamon. Melted chocolate. Toasted marshmallows. Sweet, but not cloying. There was also the smell of coffee. Personally, Bianca didn’t like coffee all that much but the circus’ coffee was a league of its own. Swarms of people were already making their way to the warm beverages. However, it seemed like the circus had stocked up and had secret compartments of those warm treats all over the place.

“Alright, like before.” Maria called Nico and Bianca to attention. All three of them were still enthralled by the bonfire. “If we get separated or if any of us wander off, we meet every hour outside the Bedtime Stories tent and wait for ten minutes before venturing away. Understood?”

“Yes.” They said in unison and as quickly as they could.

“Where do you want to go first?” She grinned. Both of them turned to Bianca.

“Why me?” Bianca asked.

Nico shrugged. “You know more about the circus than we do. Well, you _should_ since you spend all that time going through those circus blogs.”

“You’d think.” Bianca chuckled. She didn’t even try to hide the fact that she was _obsessed_ with the circus.

“So you haven’t printed out a map yet?” Nico teased.

“I don’t want my nose stuck in a piece of paper when there’s _so much_ to see.” Bianca replied, her eyes wandering. Jugglers, sword dancers, and other performers were taking their places around the courtyard. “To me, there are two choices…” She dug for a coin in her coat pocket and flipped it into the air. “Heads left, tails right.” She snatched the coin before it fell on the ground, which was painted in patterns of black and white too. “Heads.”

“Left it is!” Maria announced. “Do either of you want hot chocolate?”

“There is no time for lines, Mother.” Bianca retorted.

They knew it was impossible to see every single attraction in the circus. There were performances strewn about in random tents and hallways. Tents of varying sizes, with almost impossible dimensions, sucked them in and held on tight as time flew by outside. Intricate trapeze performances without a net. Fire dancers with different colored flames they seemed to bend to their will. Large, majestic paper animals coming to life. There wasn’t even any time to catch a breath in between tents. Time was sprinting. They only had one free night to enjoy this before they returned to the normal world again.

The di Angelos haven’t had this much fun in a very long time.

They do get some food while they watched the illusionist perform. Although it was difficult to focus on anything other than the performance.

The illusionist had a way with movement. Every trick, every illusion, every impossibility, blended into each other as if it were all a single grand performance. Each one elicited thunderous ovations. It was magic. Bianca and Nico could taste it in the back of their throats, overpowering the treats they had forgotten out of awe. How else could he perform in a circular stage? How else could he turn sand into water into ice into crystals into light? How else could he have made a bouquet literally grow out the palm of his hand?

Magic. The purest, most refined form of magic.

They were entranced, their minds racing to catch up with what they saw, at the same time comprehend the fact that they could be like the illusionist one day.

At the end of the performance, the illusionist raised his stark white bowler hat, waving goodbye. The audience expressed their disappointment beneath their applause. He continued to smile as he tossed the hat into the air. It grew wider while it spun, like a pizza. Then it fell over him. Everyone stared as the hat shrank into its original size and disappeared into dust blown away by a slight breeze. The tent’s exit reappeared. Everyone was reluctant to leave.

They needed to give others a chance to bask in what should very well be a new Wonder of the World, however. It would be unfair of them to hog the performance.

As they walked out, rave reviews left and right, they bumped into Hester again, this time with a few _rêveurs_ more her age with one stray young man. A transparent man.

Bianca hugged her like they hadn’t seen each other for years. She hadn’t noticed the man. “Oh my gosh!” She squealed. “Wasn’t that the most _amazing_ thing ever?”

“It sure was!” Hester replied. “Oh, I do remember the first day I saw him perform. What a stunner. And so young too. Probably the youngest of all illusionists. He must have a real talent.”

“Prodigious, some might say.” A woman with red framed glasses said. “Over the years, there have been four illusionists. Three of them have been roughly the same age – early to mid-twenties – but Merlin started at seventeen or eighteen. His audition must’ve been quite a feat. How he manages not to burn out or become even slightly inconsistent through the years rival that of the first illusionist, Celia Bowen. I haven’t had the pleasure of seeing her myself – it’s been a little more than a hundred years since her last performance – but the descriptions of her performances matches Merlin’s.”

Hester chuckled. “That’s Athena, our resident Circus of Dreams history buff. Going down the line: Ares, Era, Herman, and Demetria.” Maria shook their hands one by one, already talking. Bianca was uncharacteristically quiet. She noticed now.

“What do you see?” Nico mumbled.

“That man. The one she didn’t introduce.” Bianca said, her eyes trained on the one standing between Athena and Hester. His eyes seemed to be on the brink of tears. At the same time, he managed to smile. It was that bittersweet in-between that benevolent ghosts almost always had. But she had to be sure, turning to Nico.

“I don’t see him.” He replied.

“…Nico and this is Bianca.” Maria said, pulling Bianca out of her thoughts.

She put on a smile right away. “It’s so nice to meet more of you!”

“I _think_ I remember you.” Herman squinted. “The last time the circus was here. You…You wore flower crowns. All three of you!”

“Yes! Oh, I’m so sorry I couldn’t remember you!” Bianca said sincerely, putting the ghost at the back of her head for now. She needed to know who he was following first.

“It’s alright.” Herman laughed. “The first time I went to the circus I was around your age. I couldn’t remember a single face or a conversation but I can remember the fastest way up the Cloud Maze.”

Nico’s head shot up, mouth agape. “Show me.” At the sound of his voice, the _rêveurs_ jumped, some clutching their chests. Nico hung his head.

“That’s more than I’ve been able to get him to say.” Hester’s eyebrows rose.

“I’d be happy too, little man.” Herman offered a smile. He was a strange little boy, quite unnerving, but at his age, he couldn’t afford to be afraid of little things. “How about the rest of you geezers? In for some exercise?”

“Who you callin’ a geezer?” Ares coughed. “I might not be faster than you but I sure as hell am not gonna back down.”

“Let’s _go_ then! You’re wasting _time_ , grumps!” Herman shuffled as fast as he could.

“Why I oughta –!” Ares growled. Nico smiled, joining Herman in front of their procession.

“So, is his name _really_ Merlin or is it a stage name?” Maria asked Athena as they walked.

“Oh, there’s been some debate on that.” She replied.

Bianca walked alongside Maria though she wanted to be in front with Nico. She watched the ghost float by Hester, opening his mouth then sighing. She wanted to ask about him but she couldn’t. Although the circus was _the place_ Nico and Bianca could fit in the best, she was still just a patron. She couldn’t hide behind a phone. Practicing for a public speaking exercise at school would be a flimsy excuse considering her surroundings. Who did homework at the Circus of Dreams?!

She kept staring at him until they reached the Cloud Maze tent. That was when their eyes met.

He was much younger than she thought he was. He could be a teenager. But he could also be a working adult. It was hard to tell sometimes. He had one of _those_ faces. And she didn’t know how long he’d been following Hester! He could be someone she lost when they were young. Again, it was hard to tell. He had a suit and tie on. Suit and ties have been around for _ages_.

“Can you see me?” He asked. Tears streamed down his eyes when Bianca nodded. “Can you help me? My mother. She’s – I – We – Our last conversation wasn’t so great.” He appeared right in front of her, close to sobbing.

“Bianca, sweetie, is everything alright?” Maria asked. Athena and Demetria’s looks were a mix of curiosity and concern, two things that adults should never mix if she didn’t want to be exposed. It was a reflex by now, hiding her abilities. Rationally, they wouldn’t mind – they were _rêveurs_ after all – but Bianca was already making an excuse.

“Yeah. Of course. I was just reeling from the illusionist tent!” She said. Athena and Demetria accepted this. Maria was more aware but didn’t say anything.

“We’ll watch it again later, I promise. C’mon.”  Maria chuckled, nodding to the entrance. “I’ll need your help prying your brother out of this tent before the sun rises.”

Bianca smiled. “I’ll help you.” She whispered to the ghost. “I just need to be alone so we can talk.” She said to the ghost.

“ _Thank you_.” He clasped his hands. “Oh Lord, _thank you_!”

“Don’t thank me yet.” She said through her teeth. The ghost didn’t seem to care or notice.

She never did this unless the person the ghost wanted to talk to fit a certain criterion. They either had to be too young or too old. Bianca found that those belonging to those age groups were more open to the idea of ghosts and the afterlife. They were also easier to throw under the bus when they accused her of being a witch or a freak.

Hester was a wonderful, whimsical woman but there was still a chance she’d have a line between reality and crazy and this could all go south. Bianca was banking on Hester being open to séances too. She hoped no “throwing under the bus” escape tactics were going to be necessary.

While Bianca was finding a nice, solidary cloud to interview the ghost, which would later introduce himself as Hester’s second son, Louie, Nico was having fun with people more than five times his age.

He wasn’t sure if it was because they were too old or because he was in the circus – he didn’t have _that_ much control over his powers – but none of them seemed too bothered by him. Either way, he was thankful. They were old enough to be his grandparents, sure, but they were keeping up quite well. Herman was right behind him, pointing out the fastest path skyward.

The Cloud Maze wasn’t called a maze because of its winding paths and sudden dead ends. It wasn’t covered in mist to throw off everyone. It was because of its height. The tent seemed to push the boundaries of space as clouds hung from a ceiling that didn’t seem to exist behind a veil of white fluffiness. Most clouds moved. The dormant ones were for those who liked to stroll instead of climb.

Nico liked the ones that moved, Maria didn’t. She let him jump from cloud to cloud anyway. Falling from a height, even from the top cloud, would not hurt at all, knowing from experience. Plus, Nico was enjoying himself. Finding a way up was what made the tent so fun. So was watching people laugh as they fall. So was actually falling.

He was going to save that for an emergency. If Bianca needed a distraction from the adults they surrounded themselves with, he’d do it then. He couldn’t have them poking around, curious about Bianca’s absence or her sitting alone in some corner, talking to the air.

Several levels below, Bianca found a tiny, moving cloud to perch on. She interviewed Louie in between creating a strategy of how to get Hester to believe in her. She was also trying not to freak herself out thinking of ways this could all go wrong. Several more levels below, a boy entered the Cloud Maze. He looked up, hands on his hips. He squinted to see who was climbing to the top only to see a girl sitting all by her lonesome, facing a wall. Immediately, he thought she was lost. Or sad. Or hurt. It was his cue to help!

“She’ll believe you, I swear.” Louie prompted. “Just tell her exactly what I told you about the accident and she will believe you. She doesn’t… talk about it that much.” Bianca wished she could console him with a hug. She could tell from the way his chest swelled and his jaw set that he was trying not to cry ghostly tears.

 “I do hope so.” She sighed.

“She’s one of the most open-minded people I know.” He mumbled as he floated along, looking up at where Maria was hoisting Hester to the next cloud. “The only reason she hasn’t…hasn’t attempted to contact me is because she thinks it’s her fault. That I’m still mad. That I’ll haunt her or something.” He chuckled without humor. “Technically I am…But I can’t talk to her. I can’t even move a thing. Five years.” He clicked his tongue. “You’d think ghosts would get some powers by then.”

“They don’t. It takes around fifteen.” Bianca replied readily.

“How do you know that?” Louie’s eyebrows furrowed.

“I’ve talked to a few of them. They’re not as nice as you, so, you’re lucky you’re not…old enough to get your powers yet.” She answered.

Louie nodded. “Is there anything else I…um…need to know…?” His voice trailed off.

“Don’t worry.” She smiled. “Everything will be fine afterwards.”

“What’s… _in_ afterwards?”

She shrugged. “They don’t exactly say much when they go.”

“Ah…” Louie was clearly disappointed. Bianca wished she could tell him something more concrete. There were just some things the universe wasn’t ready to share with her yet.

“Who are you talking to?” A voice below her asked, nearly causing her to fall off. “Woah! I didn’t mean to scare you!” Bianca whirled around. Without her phone, she didn’t have a good excuse. _With_ her phone, she wouldn’t have a good excuse. She would have to use the homework one! It was going to sound _so stupid_ but anything was better than nothing!

“Oh – I – I was practicing for – um – where are you?” Bianca looked down but he wasn’t there. She turned to the nearest clouds. No one still. She faced Louie. Hewas floating towards his mother, now taking a break near the top. Then the boy’s blond head popped up from the cloud above her. Her soul nearly jumped out her body.

“Sorry, again. I was trying to see if someone was lying above you.” He offered a smile. “You were practicing?”

“Yeah. It’s for this public speaking assignment at school.” She lied.

The boy quirked his eyebrow. “You’re practicing. For school. In the Circus of Dreams.” Bianca considered jumping off the cloud to avoid any more questions. “That’s a lie. You’re lying.” He smirked, disappearing behind the cloud. Bianca thought this was her chance to escape until his legs shot out and he slid down to the very edge of her cloud in time for it to move. “No one does schoolwork here. Unless you don’t like fun. You seem like someone who likes fun.”

“Are you always this pushy?” Bianca huffed.

“Only when I’m curious.” He grinned, blue eyes warm and inviting. Bianca didn’t want to be annoyed. “Will Solace.” He stuck his hand out.

“Bianca di Angelo.” Bianca expected to jump off as soon as introductions were finished but, as soon as their skin met, it became clear to her who exactly Will Solace was.

Magic knew magic. It surged between the two of them. Every centimeter of their bodies shook as their magic said a hearty hello to one another. A shower of sparks erupted from their fingers. Bianca’s eyes widened. Will felt like he was going to burst into sparks himself. “You?!” They said together. “Yeah!”

“Oh my god!” Will ran his fingers through his hair. “I honestly never thought I’d meet another one who wasn’t already part of the circus!”

“ _I_ honestly never thought I’d meet one!” Bianca whispered to herself. “This is amazing! I can’t _wait_ to tell my brother!”

Will clapped in excitement. “Is he –?” Bianca nodded vigorously. “Oh my _god_! I need to see him too! We should hang out after this!”

“ _Definitely_!” Underneath Bianca’s excitement was relief. Not only did they meet a patron who had magic, he was the _same age_ as her and Nico! That potentially meant a magical parent! Or two! That potentially meant someone who knew how to help them with their abilities! There were too many questions! She didn’t know which one to ask first!

“So… _were_ you talking to someone?” Will asked, leaning close.

“Yeah. A ghost.”

Before she could expound, Will interrupted, “Celia and Marco?”

“Who?”

“Oh, sorry. Long story. Maybe later. Who were you talking to?”

“Well,” Bianca continued, “it was a ghost son of one of the _rêveurs_ who is with my mom and my brother right now. Way up there.” She pointed at the top. “We were trying to figure out how to go about telling her.”

“Good luck with that.” Will said, patting Bianca on the back. “I’m so _stoked_! There are _two more_ of you! God! I can’t believe it! I’m gonna go introduce myself to your brother!” He dropped himself to the cloud below him. Bianca followed.

“I’ll join you. I want to see the look on his face.” She giggled. “And I want to get to know you more!”

“Try and catch up then.” Will darted to the next cloud.

Up above, Nico dangled his legs in the air beside Maria. He stared. He tended to do this when he had nothing better to do or had something interesting to look at. Maria and Bianca said he would stay as still as his gaze when he did. No wonder he freaked people out. If anyone else stared at him without moving, not even twitching, he wouldn’t feel safe either. He tried to get out of that habit but so far there weren’t any results.

And in the Cloud Maze, there was a lot to stare at. The people climbing, jumping, falling, and laughing. The seemingly random directions the clouds moved to. The dizzying height. The tent itself.

Nico could feel the magic in every wisp. It was like holding a purring cat or a calmly vibrating phone. He realized that he wasn’t just sensing the magic, it was also giving him energy. The latest he’d ever been up was half-passed midnight. Now it was almost two. He knew wasn’t because of the nap. He couldn’t nap that afternoon. The hours leading up to the circus were filled with worry that he might get too sleepy to enjoy the circus.

Inside, he didn’t think he ever felt more awake.

“Mom?” He nudged his shoulder into her arm.

“Yes, dear?”

“Do you think I’ll be able to do something like this one day?” He asked, blinking for the first time in many minutes.

Maria smiled. “Anything’s possible, honey.”

Nico faced the sudden drop again. “A lot of magic went into this.” He commented.

“You can tell?” Maria ran his hands along the cloud they were sitting on. Nico nodded. “Imagine how much magic went into the rest of the circus.” She added in awe.

“So much.”

“That is correct!”

Nico and Maria nearly fell off the edge. They both scrambled backwards out of instinct, hitting two pairs of legs. One of them was Bianca’s, the other was a stranger. “Hello. I’m Will Solace.” He grinned, holding his hand out for Nico.

At first, he was perplexed. “Nico  –” The second he grabbed Will’s hand, every nerve in his body sang. Nico’s eyes widened as Will pulled him upright. The closer he got, the warmer his body felt. Then it wasn’t just his body. It was deeper than that. He could feel Will’s power behind his smile, a blinding light waiting to illuminate the world. Bianca added to that feeling, putting her hands on both boys’ shoulders. Their magic greeted one another like excited puppies. They wanted to jump and soar to the bottom of the tent. Their surging powers made their hearts thump louder and louder and louder as if they’d jumped off. Their thoughts quickened with possibility. If Will existed, surely there were more of them out there. For so long it felt like just him and Bianca. They’d been so used to each other’s magic that this resurgence of magical awareness took them by surprise.

“Will, meet my brother, Nico, and my mom, Maria.” Bianca chirped. She loved the slack jawed look Nico had on. “He’s like us. His dad’s a fire sculptor in the circus! Can you believe it?!”

Nico’s hand hung in the air when Will’s slipped out at the end of the handshake. Glimmering light lingered between their fingertips. He looked up at Will. “Wow.”

“Wow indeed!” Will laughed. “I’ve never been this excited! More excited than when Mom brought me to the circus for the first time! And that’s saying something! Well, okay, that’s an exaggeration but this is pretty great too!” His excitement was contagious. Nico almost considered that to be one of his abilities the same way he could elicit fear out of everyone.

Why couldn’t he have _that_ instead?

“Mom, can I talk to you for a second?” Bianca reached for Maria’s wrist. “It’s about Hester.”

“Sure, honey…”

As they went to another corner to talk, Will turned to Nico again. Nico shrank. Though his powers didn’t affect Bianca and Maria to some extent – Bianca for having magic and Maria for having been with his for so long – he was afraid it would affect Will. It would be just his luck if it did though. He wouldn’t be surprised.

“Sorry I almost caused you and your mom to fall. I got too excited to meet you.” Will said.

“It’s alright.”

Will paused. “You don’t talk much, do you?”

“Not much to say.” He shrugged.

“There’s _everything_ to say!” Will exclaimed. “Let’s talk about it all, Nico! Let’s talk about cleaning up after ourselves in public! Let’s share horror stories about silly, normal classmates! Let’s talk about our parents! Now, Bianca’s given me a summary of your dad and all – let’s save that for some other time – but _you_ can ask me anything! It’s good to have friends with the same hobbies.” Nico’s eyebrows rose. “Magic. I mean magic.”

“Oh. Right…”

“Do you want to hold hands again and see what happens?” Will offered both of his hands.

Nico wanted to say yes. Wanting to say yes made him blush and it wasn’t because of the rush of magic anymore. He didn’t know what it was. It felt weird. A good weird. He was nervous but he didn’t know what he was nervous about. “No, thank you. It’s…um…a little too much.” Probably the magic.

“Yeah. Okay, sure.” Will tried not to be disappointed. All he wanted was to see if anything cool happened to the Cloud Maze if they joined forces again. “…Do you want to jump down?” Nico looked over his shoulder to his family, hesitant. “We’ll be back before they notice, I swear.” Will added with an elbow nudge. They wouldn’t. Nico didn’t have to know that.

“It’s a long way down.”

“I know some shortcuts. Dad taught me.”

Nico didn’t trust easily. Everyone at school always had a malicious, ulterior motive when it came to interacting with him. But Will was different. Not just because he smiled or because he had magic. He seemed kind. And Bianca liked him. She was a good judge of character. At least, Nico hoped so. “Okay.” He said without pondering further.

While Nico and Will jumped off together, Bianca told Maria her plan.

“What about the others? They won’t go anywhere without Hester.” Maria pointed out.

“Don’t worry. Will and I thought about that on the way up here.” Bianca countered. “There are a lot of distractions in the circus.”

“Okay. Good.” Maria kissed her on the forehead. “I’m so proud of you. Let’s round them up.” As soon as she noticed Nico and Will gone, she knew what happened. “Oh, your brother is going to get an earful.” She groaned. “I _told_ him not to jump off no matter how safe they say it is!” Not without her, anyway.

“It’s okay, Mom.” Bianca said. “He’s with Will. He’ll be fine. Hey, Hester! Wanna go to the Labyrinth! I heard there was an extension!” The company of _rêveurs_ needn’t be told twice. Will joined them as part of the plan.

His addition to their tiny team made all the difference. He’d entranced the group with his lineage. They all assumed that children of the circus _remained_ children of the circus, always behind the scenes being groomed to take over. But not him. He was gallivanting in the public, not a care in the world. His father’s definition of “supervision” remained unknown to his mother. And he talked. He spoke more words that night than Nico did in a week. He wasn’t shy about divulging circus secrets. There were _many_ secrets. It just so happened that the secrets Will knew were the smallest ones – ones that could, in no way, jeopardize the Circus of Dreams.

Soon, he would know more. Tonight, he knew what every little circus kid knew – all the fun hidden features in every tent. He dangled it in front of the _rêveurs_ and Nico. They hung on every word as if they were touring a museum and the tents were paintings created by long dead artists.

Depending on how well-versed a person was with the circus’ history, technically, they were paintings of long dead artists.

Depending on how entrenched a person was with the circus, “dead” had a relative definition.

Either way, they didn’t notice how Bianca diverted Hester to the Wishing Tree tent – Will’s idea – which was a hallway away from the Labyrinth.

“What’s this about, Bianca?” Hester asked when they entered the tent. The interior was all black fabric, making the tree’s glow brighter against it. Candles lay on the floor beside a black tree, now almost covered in melted wax. Almost time for its regular clean up. Just in time for Bianca to point out Hester’s candle.

“That’s yours, isn’t it?” She said softly. She stood beside the candle, which sat on a low, thin branch, away from the others that crowded near the trunk where it was sturdier. 

Hester blinked a few times. “I don’t know. It must’ve been…weeks since I last went in here. It must be someone else’s by now.” However, the candle was melted in such a way that she knew no one had replaced it. Hester’s body clenched with apprehension.

“Don’t be afraid.” Bianca said. Louie, who was floating beside his mother, nodded encouragingly. “It’s…It’s your wish. I want to grant it for you.”

“My wish…?” Hester whispered as she wrung her scarf.

“You wished your son would forgive you.” Bianca said. “You called him, before the accident. When he didn’t show up for Christmas, you got upset and you called him until he picked up. He was driving. He was upset too.”

Rivers of tears ran down Hester’s cheeks. Reflections of the candles made her eyes shimmer. “How do you know that?” She squeaked. Her heart was racing far too fast for a woman her age. All that she said, all that Louie said, and that horrible crunch in the middle of Louie’s tirade came hurdling through her mind and her body never felt frailer except for the day it actually happened.

“Louie told me.” Bianca tried not to cry. It would not help any of them if she were to cry right now. “He’s right here, Hester.” She held out a trembling hand. Hester’s eyes boggled. She whirled around to see him, _hoping_ she would see him.

Bianca let go of a few tears.

Louie remained dead and unseen. He appeared beside Bianca, eyes still trained on his mother. “What do I do?” He asked Bianca.

“If you let me, you can talk to him. He’s not mad, I promise. He wants to talk to you too.” Bianca said steadily.

After a deep breath, Hester took Bianca’s cold hand. In that second, Bianca’s vision blurred and a thick chill enveloped her entire body. Her eyes changed color. Hester gasped when she recognized those bright green eyes that everyone said came from her. “Louie?” She stammered.

“Mom.” Louie’s voice overlapped Bianca’s. He laughed. “Mom. You have no idea how _hard_ it is to get a hold of you.”

Hester shook with laughter as she held Bianca’s face, looking into Louie’s eyes, before hugging him. He hugged back. “I’m sorry, Mom. I didn’t mean to yell at you.” It was such a relief to have those words finally heard.

“No. No, I shouldn’t’ve bothered you. I should’ve respected how much you loved your job and that you were just starting. I should’ve sacrificed one Christmas for all the others we can’t have now.” She cried at the end. “Oh Lou. _I’m_ the one who should be sorry. If it weren’t for me –”

“Mom. It’s okay now. It’s okay. I don’t blame you. Dad doesn’t blame you. Molly and Devin don’t blame you.” Louie tightened the embrace. “It was an accident.”

“An accident that wouldn’t have happened if –”

“Mother.” Louie pulled away to give Hester a stern look. “Nothing will bring me back. And running away with the circus won’t make Dad miss you any less. Go home. Please.” Hester nodded.

He smiled, rubbing her arms. “I wish I took you up on those ticket offers more often. This circus was better than I remembered. That’s one thing I do regret. I was such a drip when I was in college, wasn’t I?”

“Yes. You were.” Hester laughed again. It had been a long time since Louie joked around.

“Shame. I can’t take that time back.” He sighed. “But you still can. With Molly and Devin. They still need their mom, even if they’re older. Speaking from experience.”

“I love you, baby.” Hester’s voice caught at the last word.

“I love you too.” Louie smiled one last time before he saw a veil of reality being lifted behind his mother. Bianca’s eyes flashed white for a moment, then they were brown again. Hester burst into more tears. Bianca held her tight in case her body started falling apart.

“Thank you.” Hester murmured. “Thank you, Bianca. You’re a godsend.”

Pride bloated Bianca’s heart. It would never get old, helping these people with the baggage that was dragging them down. She was seeing a brand new life unfolding and she was the reason. She had done that for them. And the departed. Wherever they went at the end, it was a good place. A warm place. She helped them too.

Another, lighter chill came over Bianca. To her right, Hester’s candle flickered before it went off. The wisp of smoke floated in a specific direction. Her eyes followed.

Standing where the smoke disappeared were two transparent people. A man in a suit and a woman in a dress. They weren’t ghosts, Bianca knew. They had more substance to them than the dead. They smiled at her before turning around, the man’s arm wrapping around the woman’s waist, and fading into the fabric.

Somehow, she knew that was the least ominous thing she would ever see in the circus.

Although Hester thought there were not enough thank-you’s in the world to let Bianca know how much she appreciated what she did, Hester insisted on buying Bianca some treats. It wasn’t necessary but she felt obliged. Bianca took this as a chance to buy Nico some more chocolate mice and licorice. The next time she saw her family, she was carrying enough paper bags of food to last them a couple of weeks or a couple of months depending on how strict Maria was going to be.

“Wow! That’s more than what my dad gives me!” Will said when they exited the Labyrinth. “And he gives me a lot.” Behind him were wide-eyed elders trying to figure out what just happened in there. Maria was helping them out as Hester caught them up about where she went, leaving Bianca’s abilities for when she had Maria all to herself. Nico came out with the biggest smile.

“Let’s do it again!” Nico exclaimed. “That was _amazing_! I didn’t know you could do that in the cage area!”

“Later, I promise.” Will put an arm around Nico’s shoulders. “Can I have some of that? Touring old people around the Labyrinth’s secret places works up an appetite.”

“Quick, before Mom notices.” Bianca giggled.

Nico and Will relieved Bianca of the weight of candy, driving their hands right into the bags, stuffing their faces like they haven’t been eating sugar all night. Bianca took a cinnamon twist. Again, she didn’t feel all too comfortable with Hester spending her money, but now it would be such a waste not to eat.

“I’m guessing it went well with Hester and Louie?” Will said with a stuffed mouth.

Bianca nodded. “It was great. I don’t know what I was worried about. The second I started talking about it, I just _knew_ Hester was going to believe me. The Wishing Tree was a good touch though. I found her candle. It blew out as soon as Louie moved on. I couldn’t have planned it better. Thanks, Will.”

“Can I have this bag of licorice?” Will asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Sure.” Bianca laughed as Nico pouted. “I’ve got a second bag, don’t worry.” She told him.

“Your abilities are _amazing_.” Will continued after he shoved the licorice into his back pocket. He held one out to Nico. “You can _really_ help people out! Two people! More than two people! You can help them with their grief and their regret and all that bad stuff after someone dies.”

Bianca blushed, flattered. “I’m happy to help.”

“And you’re so shy about it! Oh, Bianca, you are role-model material for sure!” Will chuckled. “I wish _I_ could do what you can do. The most I could do is make light happen.” He punctuated that by snapping his fingers and a stream of light twirled into the air. “It’s neat and all but it can’t compare to you.”

“I wish I could too.” Nico said. Unlike Will, it had a much sadder undertone to it.

Bianca reached for Nico and he could already hear what comforting words she was about to use. But Will pulled him into a side hug. “Don’t worry, buddy!” He said. “You just need a little training and you’ll do spectacular things. Trust me.”

The siblings glanced at each other. “Where do _you_ train?” Bianca asked.

“Oh, I’m not _training_ -training.” He said with air-quotes. “My dad and I mess around in the summer – story for another time – but after I finish high school, my mom will let me go with the circus and get trained as it goes around!”

“Wait…What?” Bianca’s mouth fell open. Both of their minds were reeling, spinning, and bursting at the thought! Train? At the Circus of Dreams?! With people _just like them_?! “The circus…teaches magic?”

“Well, it’s not something they _advertise_.” Will answered, unaware of his new friends’ state. “All I know is that they’re doing it for me because I’m a performer’s son. But! Oh my god! It just hit me!” Will hit himself on the forehead. “ _We_ could get trained together! Won’t that be just the funnest thing in the whole, wide world?!” He squealed, hugging both of them. “I’ll tell my dad as soon as I can!”

“Tell your dad what?” Someone asked a few steps behind Bianca and Nico. They turned. Three adults stood a few steps away. Two men, one woman. They were old, but not _that_ old. Not as old as their actual ages. The redheads were twins, similar down to the last freckle, except for their sex. The man in the far left had a large sly smile on his face. He spread his arms apart for an embrace, burn scars marring the otherwise flawless fair skin.

“Dad! Widget! Poppet! Hi!” Will ran into his father’s arms. “Nico, Bianca, meet my dad, Apollo. That’s his husband, Widget, and Widget’s twin sister, Poppet.”

“Hello.” Widget grinned as Poppet inclined her head to them. “May we have a word with your mother?”

Bianca and Nico’s eyes bulged as Will clutched his father’s arm in glee. The di Angelos looked at each other, coming to the same conclusion – they actually had a future that didn’t suck!

“She’s over there by the Labyrinth’s exit.” Nico blurted, almost impatient.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -I'm working on chapter 4 right now. Don't expect a proper chapter-like-this-one update by March. An interlude will come. Depending on how fast I write chapter 6.   
> -Be patient with the romance. I'm currently working up to it.


	3. Lost and Departed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I am found." Tamika Flynn, Welcome to Night Vale

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Expect a new chapter soon.

There is a tent. You don’t see this tent very often. Not many do. It’s always at the same place, right by the Fortune Teller’s tent, but it’s not always open.

There are no signs telling you when this tent will appear. You can’t figure out if there’s a schedule but it doesn’t bother you that much. You don’t think it’s a particularly exciting tent. Not that it isn’t anything special. It really isn’t exciting in the way the Ice Garden or the Pool of Tears or the Drawing Room aren’t exciting. However, you can’t imagine a tent existing in the circus that wasn’t, in its own way, fascinating.

The first time you see it, you go in out of curiosity. You go in thinking it was going to be a brand new attraction, only to find a girl with kind brown eyes and fair brown skin highlighted by her white lace dress. She sits on a checkered, marshmallow-y chair, surrounded by a ton of miscellaneous crap.

“Hello,” she says. Not many people of this circus speak. There was the Fortune Teller, of course, and there was the Singer, who was there in a select number of cities or special nights. “Are you looking for something?”

Suddenly, you remember this one thing that flits in and out of your mind. It’s a small thing you’ve misplaced. It’s not _so important_ that your life revolves around reuniting yourself and this thing, but it’s important enough that you’re a little sad whenever you think about the fact that you lost it.

You tell the girl.

She stands up and offers the chair. You sit. It’s one of the softest chairs you’ve ever had the pleasure of putting your butt on.

She takes her place behind the chair. “Close your eyes.” You oblige. You trust her implicitly. You learn to trust that the performers know what they’re doing when you’re in the circus. “Open them.” You see your room. You’re surprised. It seems so real. Even the mess you made on the floor getting ready for your night at the circus looks like how you left it. Then one of your bottom drawers glow. You see that small thing you lost long ago, lodged inside a sock you haven’t worn in ages. You feel embarrassed not to have checked there.

“Close your eyes.” She says again. You oblige again. “Open.” You hear the smile in her voice. You see this smile right in front of you as she holds out the thing you thought you lost. “Don’t lose it again, alright?”

You take the thing shakily. You say okay.

You look back at the tent and see a sign that makes you chuckle. “Lost and Found,” it said.

Still, not a particularly exciting tent.

That is, until you pass it by again just in time for someone to walk out. They have tears in their eyes. They have a grin on their lips. You see the girl standing by the tent’s opening, also smiling, also in tears, before it disappears into the rest of the circus’ stripes.

“That is the most miraculous tent.” They breathe when you ask them if they are alright and if they need help. “I got to say goodbye. All this time, I thought I could never say my goodbye but now I did and I don’t think I’ll ever be happier.” They put a hand on your shoulder. “Out of all the miracles in this circus, this is the _greatest_.”

You look up forums and blogs about this tent when you have the time. You cry when you read the stories. You hope to see the girl again just to thank her for all the good she does.

And maybe look for that other thing you lost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, there is going to be eight total chapters for the entire fic. Half of that is interludes. Know that. I hope you didn't wait for too long <3


	4. Introduction to Integrative Magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Circus life is surprisingly easy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can never write short chapters.

_June 2011, Portland, Oregon_

Nico di Angelo waited until the day after Bianca’s graduation to make his move.

“WE HAD AN AGREEMENT, NICO DI ANGELO!”

“AGREEMENT! AGREEMENT! AGREEMENT! IS THAT ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY?! I DON’T GIVE A FLYING _FUCK_ –”

“NICO!”

“–ABOUT THE AGREEMENT! I HATE SCHOOL! I HATE THE PEOPLE IN MY SCHOOL! THEY HATE ME BACK! WHY CAN YOU JUST LET ME _GO_?!”

It didn’t go as planned. There was a lot more shouting in Italian than he and Maria wanted but both of them were making it more difficult than it should be.

“YOU JUST STARTED HIGH SCHOOL!”

“YEAH! I KNOW! I _HATE_ IT! I CAN’T DO ANY BETTER THERE THAN I CAN AT THE CIRCUS! I DON’T BELONG HERE, MOM! AND I CAN’T BE LIKE BIANCA! I’M NOT AS SMART AS BIANCA! I’M NOT AS PATIENT AS BIANCA! AND I’M SURE AS HELL NOT AS _SAFE_ AS BIANCA!”

Nico also waited until Bianca was out with a couple of friends – yes, she managed to make friends despite her blatant familial love for her outcast brother. She was busy being a normal girl, doing normal girl things with the friends who graduated with her and who accept her and her creepy brother.

Of course, Bianca wasn’t a normal girl. Normal girls didn’t _sense_ an argument ransacking the apartment she grew up in.

Maria was furious. Nico was throwing the biggest tantrum in his life and he knew it. “NICO, YOU’RE BEING UNREASONABLE!” She shouted above her fear. She _was_ afraid too. Every instinct was telling her to give in or else there would be horrific consequences. But Nico was still _her son_ , magic or no magic. She needed to put her foot down at some point.

“ _CAZZO_.” Nico scoffed. “ _I’M_ BEING UNREASONABLE?! MOM! OPEN YOUR _FUCKING_ –”

“I DIDN’T RAISE YOU TO SWEAR, NICO DI ANGELO!”

“YOU DIDN’T RAISE ME TO BE AN AWKWARD, MAGICAL SOCIAL PARIAH AND YET HERE WE ARE!”

Silence hung heavily. They stared at each other, both with glassy eyes and shuddering breaths.

If he was completely honest, he was also afraid. Bianca’s departure didn’t just mean Nico would lose his only friend, Nico would lose his safety net. Bianca was always there to calm him down when awful people did awful things to him and sometimes her. Without Bianca, worse things than sudden nosebleeds, casual tripping, and quick, terrifying visions might happen. Nico didn’t want to know how far he’d go to punish the wicked. Maria shouldn’t have to know either. He didn’t like hurting Maria. He didn’t like seeing her constantly wiping her tears. She just wouldn’t let him go.

“You’re still too young.” Maria whimpered, no longer in Italian. All the fire had been doused and she felt like an old lady who didn’t like going to the circus. She got too used to Bianca’s easy transition through high school and puberty that she expected Nico to follow the same path. Now she had a real life teenager in her hands and she was at a loss. She wasn’t sure what to do when he plowed through everything she said with renewed anger. “Education is very important to me, Nico. Why can’t you see that?”

Nico kept himself from exploding again. He started the fight with all the needless kicking and screaming, he should decide to end it. “What good would that do me if I lose my head?” He muttered, crossing his arms. He took a step back when Maria reached for him. “Mom, please, just _listen_ to me!” She flinched. He clenched his fists to control himself. “I can’t take another year. Or three more. My powers aren’t like Bianca’s.” He reminded. “I need help _now_. I need to go _with her_ or I’ll lose the one thing that’s keeping me from lashing out.”

“You won’t _lose_ her.” Maria argued.

“She’ll be far enough.” Nico countered.

She sniffled. “You have –”

“ _Mom._ ” Nico groaned. “I know I have you but I’m dangerous. I’m legitimately _dangerous_. Being in a place filled with people who hate me will make it _worse_. Bianca might’ve gone through it fine but I won’t. And I’m sorry to say you’re not capable of helping me in _that_ way.”

Just then, Bianca slammed the door open, out of breath. “What’s going on?” She asked as her shopping bags fell to the floor. The room was a mess – upturned chairs, smashed glass, ruined curtains. All Nico’s doing. It could’ve been worse. Nico could’ve done all that to their mother.

“Your brother wants to drop out of high school.” Maria answered, half-glumly, half-accusatory.

“Mom won’t let me.” Nico grumbled.

Bianca closed the door, sighing. “Neeks. Why didn’t you tell me you wanted to?”

“I thought I could convince her by myself.” He replied. “Things got…” He gestured to the room, a physical representation of how things got.

“Bianca,” Maria walked to her, “ _please_ talk to him. Maybe if you talk to him, he’ll understand that he can’t run away to the circus _yet_. He has to honor our agreement the way you did.” She pleaded in a whisper. “He’s too young.”

Bianca glanced at Nico, who was trying not to listen in to whatever Maria was saying. He scowled at the floor, curling into himself as if shielding himself from any sort of blow. She sighed again. “Mom, listen to him.”

Maria looked like Bianca slapped her. “What?” It was the smallest sound she could ever make.

“I’m gonna go down, walk around the block, and grab some biscotti from the Ciampi’s. You two settle this yourselves.” She said. She knew that Nico had his reasons for doing this on his own. If he was going to drop out of school, he was going to have to convince their mother himself. “Listen to him. He could’ve just run away without telling you but he decided to ask for your permission.” Bianca picked up her bags and walked out of the door. The last thing she saw was Nico mouthing “thank you”.

Nico wasn’t sure how to make it up to her after all the things she’d done for him.

It was silent again. Maria was frozen solid where Bianca left her. She had hoped for someone to be on her side, now she felt silly to expect it from siblings. For a moment, she considered what it would’ve been like if Bianca were a little bit older then shook her head. She couldn’t resent her daughter, especially since she had a point.

She never thought she’d see the day the obedient one would turn on her.

“Mom…Sit.” Nico was on the same spot that he sat on when he first said those words. Maria chewed on her lips and cheek before sitting. They both sighed. Both for different reasons. Frustration. The slow realization that someone was no longer needed. A desperate, but subtle, cry for patience. Relieving the fear that was about to burst. “Look, I don’t want to fight. I’m not looking for one. I’m not doing this because I hate you or anything. I…I don’t feel useful here.”

“We had a deal. High school before circus.” Maria shook her head. “You’re barely a teenager, Nico.”

Nico tried not to be insulted. “I know.” He said slowly. “Does it matter? Look, Bianca’s right. I’ll do this with or without your permission, but I want to have it so we won’t have to deal with any sort of fall out or bad feelings.” _Like right now._ He sighed. “I can’t be the normal teenager Bianca was good at pretending to be. I can’t do high school. I can’t get a job. It’ll be the death of me.” _And maybe you too but I don’t want to think about that._

“Like that circus won’t be filled with peril?” Maria countered. “Have you _seen_ those fire dancers? And you’ll be in different countries _all the time_. Bad things happen in strange places.”

Nico tried not to roll his eyes. “Mom, I have magic. You should be worried about the people I’m going to be with. Besides, Bianca will be there. She’ll take care of me. And you’ve met the Clarkes and the Murrays! They’re good people, Mom. They’ll help me learn how to control my powers _and_ help us find Dad. Staying in high school will be a waste of my time. I’ve grown up _enough_.”

Maria started crying into the heels of her hands. She was out of ammo. All she had were her tears and she knew that wasn’t going to stop someone who already made up their mind. “You promised.” She stuttered. “You promised not to grow up too fast.” But she couldn’t stop it any more than she could help them with their powers. She had lost her motherly purpose earlier than expected. She never felt more helpless. Except for that night Hector left.

“…Hey…” Nico scooted closer, pulling his mother into an embrace. “That doesn’t mean you’re not my mom anymore.” He said. “I know you’re doing what you think is best for me. I know education is important. I know that it wasn’t a good idea the first time they proposed training us – Bianca was thirteen and I was _eleven_. I _get_ that part. But I’m fifteen now. I _know_ that it’s not that old but I’m old enough to know that there is nothing for me in high school. No friends. No drive. Nothing. I’m not Bianca. I’ll hate every second of it and I’m afraid I’ll grow to hate you if we force this.” A single tear trickled down his cheek. “I don’t want to hate you.”

“I’m sorry.” Maria sobbed. “I’m so sorry. I just – I just thought – I guess in the back of my head, I was trying to fit you into what I thought regular teenagers should do with their lives.” Her side of the hug tightened. “You two are far from it. Normal, I mean. You’re right. I can’t force you to do something you don’t want to do. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for thinking it’s as easy for you as it is for your sister.”

Before she could go on, Nico interrupted. “It’s okay, Mom.” Nico kiss her forehead. “I’m sorry for raising my voice and…um…swearing.”

Maria knew Nico was going to swear anyway without her around, but she had to accept it the same way she was going to accept everything else. “It’s okay.” She said.

It was going to _have to_ be okay. She supposed it could’ve been worse. Bianca was right – there were many times that Bianca was right – Nico could have left without warning the same way the circus did. Instead, he did the responsible thing and told her about his plans.

Later that night, as her children – her too mature, too magical children – slept, Maria took out a bottle of wine. She drank and thought and cried a little. She was too young to lose her children this way. After those twins asked her if they could train them in magic, it finally settled that her children would never be like the others. They wouldn’t have college aspirations. They wouldn’t have those first job woes after graduation. They wouldn’t have existential crises about what their career would be. They would be in a circus. Learning _magic_. Finding their _father_.

Where did this leave her? Living a mundane human life?

There were so many things she thought she would do with her kids but would no longer be able to. College advice? Girl advice? Boy advice? Career advice? Dorm advice? All gone. She hadn’t even taught Nico how to drive yet, let alone how to _shave_. (Though, by this point, she wondered if he’d be able to grow any sort of extra hair.)

She was afraid she couldn’t _relate_ to them. One day, they would be too entrenched with magic side of things that they wouldn’t have anything to talk about. And then what? Who was she if she wasn’t their mother anymore? She would have nothing. She didn’t even enjoy being a mortician all that much sometimes.

Maria di Angelo drank herself to sleep on the couch.

The next morning, she woke up with a slight hangover and her two kids holding aspirin and tall glass of water. The headache was getting worse by the second.

“This is embarrassing.” Maria mumbled. This should’ve been the other way around. A lot of things should’ve been the other way around.

At least now there was color in her face.

“What’s wrong?” Bianca asked as soon as Maria drank the water and the pills. Maria didn’t like drinking, they knew that.

“ _This_ is embarrassing.” Maria repeated, rubbing her forehead, then her face, then her eyes. She sighed. “My god.”

“Bianca, let’s give her some space. It’s not a right moment to talk.” Nico suggested.

“Right.” Bianca kissed her cheek. “We’ll talk later, okay?”

“No. No. Now is fine. I’m just…” She sighed again. “This is weird, don’t you think? I should be the one giving you the water, the pills, and the concerned talk.”

“Mom, this is honestly the _least_ weird thing about our family.” Nico quipped.

“True.” Maria chuckled as the two settled beside her. “I guess I’m afraid. Your father would’ve probably be more equipped to raise you than me.”

“Don’t be silly.” Bianca smiled and held her hands. “You did a _fabulous_ job raising us, despite every single circumstance that would say otherwise.”

“You did it all without magic.” Nico added. “That’s saying something.”

“You’re amazing. Both of you.” Maria said, acknowledging both of them with a smile. “Too amazing, some may say.” The smile was gone.

“What do you mean?” Bianca asked.

Maria took her time replying. “When you leave…” She started. “What will happen? What will we talk about? We can’t talk about normal things anymore. If we can’t do that, can we even…you know… _relate_ to one another? I’ve read a _ton_ of parenting books and I still remember being your age. Sort of. I’m well aware that there will be a time when we won’t see eye to eye or be on the same page but I’m also aware that one day we will be. When adult experience start pouring in, usually.” She paused, looking at them with sad eyes and holding both of their hands. “That won’t happen with us. You’ll be doing magic. I won’t know _anything_ about it! What can I say? What will we talk about? I feel like one day we’ll just…lose touch.”

“That won’t happen.” Nico squeezed her hand. “That will _not_ happen.”

“Mom, trust me – _us_.” Bianca said. “We’ll talk plenty. We’ll email you as much as we can. We’ll tell you stuff about the circus and what we’re doing. You’ll continue to be our mother. I’m sure there’ll be plenty of things to talk about like…relationships. Just because we have magic doesn’t mean that won’t happen. Right, Neeks?”

Nico blushed. “Y-Yeah, I guess.”

“And maybe we’ll get our own place. Or taxes. That’s something to talk about.” Bianca continued.

Maria laughed. “You always know what to say.”

“The point is that we’ll need you in one way or another.” Bianca looked her straight in the eyes. “You won’t stop being our mother any more than we can stop having magic. It’ll take something _enormous_ to stop those.”

“Like death.” Nico blurted.

“Let’s not think of that right now.” Maria laughed again. When she sobered down, she looked at both of them. “I’m sorry you have to see me in a state.”

Bianca tucked a few strands of Maria’s hair into place, smiling. “Don’t be. It’ll be a fun story to tell.” Nico and Maria gave her a look. “What? _One day_ it will be.”

* * *

_From: solace_william@gmail.com_

_To: bianca.di.angelo@gmail.com_

_Subject: Yes. I’m still bitter. Yes. I’m still jealous._

_Dear Devil Child,_

_Literally how dare you and Nico not wait for me to graduate before you went to the circus! I’m so upset!!!!_

_Not really, but I kinda am!_

_Okay, I KNOW I got a head start with the whole “still having my father in my life” thing but COME ON. This is unfair! Bianca di Angelo, you are too smart for your own good! Nico’s lucky to have you! I wish I had an older sibling to convince my mom to let me go to the circus one year earlier BUT NOOOOOOO I had to be an ACCIDENT that my FATHER PUT INTO MY MOTHER and they never followed up on their relationship._

_God. I DO sound like a whiny brat. I’m sorry._

_To be COMPLETELY honest, I am happy for both of you. You two deserve it after years and years of trying to control your powers blind. It’s meant to be, I guess. You two going a year early while I suffer with all the normal. THAT’S fair. The universe is a beautiful place that way._

_That won’t stop me from being HORRIFICLY jealous. You get to LIVE IN THE CIRCUS! For more than a couple of weeks!!!! How INSANELY COOL is that?! And you get to train with Widget and ALL of the Clarkes. And omfg MERLIN! How Arthurian is that?! Though he won’t be there all the time because he’s married to Arthur (which is STILL TRIPPY if you ask me) but that’d be cool! You get to eat all the cinnamon twists you want! You can even help! Lisa is forthcoming when it comes to help. AHHHHH!!! I’m so excited and jealous! You get to go EVERYWHERE with the circus! Dad said you’ll be touring areas in Africa and the Middle East and Asia next!!! I’ve only been so far as MEXICO! I mean, Mexico is a great place, don’t get me wrong, but you’ll see a whole lot more than I will!!!!_

_I, Will, son of Apollo Murray!_

_Tell me all about it, okay? CC me with the emails you have for your mom describing every little detail! Give me the GOOD STUFF. All the hot gossip and what not. Everything you’re too afraid to tell your mom. So…I guess DON’T CC me._

_Anyway, I still have HOMEWORK unlike SOME OF US._

_Love you! Talk to you later! Hug the Cockroach for me! Tell him to reply to my emails with HIS email. I get the whole sibling thing but come now. You’re just being lazy. Tell him he’s being lazy. And then hug him._

_Will :D_

* * *

_From: NotNicholas_JustNico@gmail.com_

_To: solace_william@gmail.com_

_Subject: It’s me replying, are you happy now?_

_Hey._

_First of all, bitterness is not a good look on you._

_Second of all, it’s not lazy, it’s efficient. Why would you want two different emails saying almost the exact same thing? That’ll be tedious and it’ll get boring. You don’t seem like the type who has that wide of an attention span. Bianca and I promise to give you the “gossip” or whatever we don’t want to tell our mom. I doubt they’ll let us in on their inside jokes and scandals so early. Don’t expect much._

_Third of all, Bianca and I wish you luck with all the homework and the normal people._

_As I type this, Bianca is sitting down behind me. She says hi. Also, she’s offering her services if you get stuck with your homework. I don’t know how that’ll work but I’m sure you two will find a way._

_Find SOLACE (haha) that you’ll be here in a few short months and that at least YOU understand your magic better than we do. Nothing drastic will happen, I’m sure. By the time you’ll get here, we’ll probably be on the same level of training. If not better._

_Bianca will be better. I’m telling you now, she’ll excel at anything. She might LIE and tell you that she’s not a good singer, but she is a good singer and it almost seems unfair that she won the genetic lottery. You’ll get used to it. I know I did._

_This got a little glum so I’m going to laugh at you for still having homework. HAHA, NERD._

_Real talk, I am excited. We both are. But I’ve personally never been so pumped about learning and traveling. God knows freshman year of high school left a bad taste in my mouth, although it’s safe to assume that learning magic will be different. I usually hate traveling too. I hate the thought of planes. I hate long road trips. Trains are okay but I’m not sure if I’ll be comfortable in such an enclosed space for a long period of time. I guess I’ll find out at the end of the summer when we DO start living in the circus._

_Bianca’s all for it, of course. That’s what I love most about her – the openness to experience. You too, I suppose. I like that about you two. I’m sorry you’ll have to drag me around everywhere you and Bianca go hahaha._

_I hope being my friend is still worth it!_

_Now, before Bianca takes over (I think she’ll be sending her own version of this email soon), I’ll end the email here._

_We miss you, by the way._

_Your friend,_

_Nico._

_P.S. Only Bianca can call me Cockroach._

Despite his protests, Nico’s name in Will’s phone remained as such: “Roach Boy”.

* * *

_November 2011, Cairo, Egypt_

The circus that opened at night sat in the middle of a hot desert afternoon. Its tall black and white spires were almost undiscernible in the heat near all of those pyramids. Those not too familiar with the area thought it was one of them, only to be disappointed when they neared it. They were intrigued all the same. They didn’t expect it to be there.

How did it get there? Nico and Bianca couldn’t figure it out, even _with_ magic.

Inside was pleasantly cool as the di Angelos got ready for the day’s magic session.

They cut their time between three things – circus duties, magic studies, and free time. Free time was almost a thing of memory, though studying magic and helping out at the circus didn’t count as work for the most part. They loved every second of it. Seeing the circus come together every night, learning about all of these methods of magic, how could they rest? How could they spend their free time _not_ learning more? And not just about magic but about how the circus operates.

Their free time boiled down to sleeping, eating, bathing, and emailing Maria and Will. Everything else goes to the circus. Sleep was always welcome after a long night but they would always sleep itching to do it all over again.

“Do you think there’s a spell that’ll help us stay up all day and we’d still be able to function?” Nico grumbled once they headed towards their classroom after feeding the kittens and delivering the laundry. He yawned, scowling immediately afterward. “My body is betraying me.”

“There ought to be.” Bianca agreed with a smile.

“When you find it, I’ll abuse it.” He joked tiredly.

“Nothing wrong with experiencing mundane human things, Neeks.” She tossed her arm over his shoulders. “It reminds us we’re not actually gods.”

Bianca had a point. He felt like such a whiny nerd when he thought about all of the things he could learn if he didn’t have to sleep. Now he could understand why Hermione was such a know-it-all. The second they got their books, he couldn’t stop reading them. Unlike Hermione, and Bianca, he could not absorb the information fast enough. It was like being a kid again. So many pictures! So many colors! So many cool words he didn’t even bother reading they were too cool! He’d get distracted by another page before he could finish the last one he read. Thankfully, their classes were a good guide. Had he been left to his own devices, he would’ve ended up turning himself into stone.

They hurried through the circus halls, not even stopping to pet one of the bigger cats that liked to wander before night fell. Since they’d oriented themselves to the twists and turns that made up the “backstage” of the circus, it’d been a while since they got lost in the folds. Sometimes they would lose all sense of direction while doing errands. However, the path to their classroom is familiar. It’s right at the courtyard, a little towards the back.

Nico knocked on the door first before it opened. “Hello.” Arthur smiled. They learned early on to _always_ knock before entering Merlin’s waiting area behind his tent.

“Hey there!” Merlin looked away from the diagram he’d drawn up for that night. “Nico, thanks again for helping me look for that book last night. You saved my show!”

“Not a problem at all.” Nico blushed. He was the one hogging the book that night anyway.

“Julian and Erin are already in.” He nodded to the curtains separating the two areas.

Arthur parted the fabric for Nico and Bianca before they could do it themselves. “Have fun.” He said.

“When do we not?” Bianca laughed.

When they were told that they were going to use the illusionist’s – _the_ illusionist’s – tent for their magical studies, both of them felt faint with surprise. It was like everyone wanted to see how far they could push their hearts to the breaking point. They were already touring with _Le Cirque des Rêves_. They were already learning magic from the proprietor’s _children_. Then they were told they were learning it in what might as well be the center of magic in all of the tents! Never had it felt more like a dream than that.

They learned different kinds of magic on rotation. For the most part, they learned intuitive magic as they were born with it. The Clarkes, however, were not stingy with their knowledge, opting to train the di Angelos in both glyphic and verbal magic as well.

Still, Bianca and Nico enjoyed intuitive magic the most. With glyphic and verbal magic, there would be books, tables, boards, and oral and written tests that were reminiscent to regular school. With intuitive magic, sometimes Julian and Erin brought nothing more than a feather. Not even a feather each for the di Angelos. Just one. It was a strange night.

Standing in the middle of an empty tent were that afternoon’s teachers, Julian and Erin Clarke, middle children of Bailey and Poppet. There were several metal balls strewn about on the floor. Julian surveyed them as Erin tossed one in the air and let it suspend there for a moment. They looked almost alike – blond hair, creamy white skin, same height, same blue eyes. They weren’t twins, but they pass themselves as such if they wanted to.

Often they did. To the point that some of the staff weren’t certain which one was the truth.

“Sorry we’re late.” Bianca announced to their teachers. “There was a mix-up with the laundry.”

“Jason and Percy?” Erin grinned. When they nodded, she shook her head, “I swear, those boys need to label their clothes.”

“And to stop doing their own laundry.” Julian added. “You’re only two minutes late, that’s not too late to even warrant the word.” He mirrored his sister’s expression, looking away from the balls. Nico felt his face heat up and turned his attention elsewhere, slinging an arm over his stomach to clutch his elbow. He shouldn’t be thinking of Julian that way. He was _much_ older and he was his _teacher_.

This was the reason why Nico sometimes found himself disliking Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. He was embarrassed by it, blaming his teenage hormones and Julian’s overall appeal. He was better than infatuation. He could, in theory, rise above that insignificant distraction. On top of the obvious, more glaring reasons, Julian wasn’t attracted to anyone at all. His asexuality was a heated topic among those unsuspecting of Nico’s adept silence in dark corners.

Therefore, Julian’s presence should not affect him.

“We like to make good use of our time.” Bianca supplied.

“Three months in and they’re still up for everything.” Erin sighed. “I wish we were more like that when we were your age.” She said, eyeing Julian pointedly.

“Don’t undermine me in front of our students.” Julian said through his smile.

“Stop talking then and start teaching.” Erin replied.

Using both of his hands, Julian motioned for the balls to levitate at waist level. Nico noted his rolled up sleeves and the slight definition of his muscles. So much for not letting Julian affect him. It didn’t help that Julian reminded him of Will. They didn’t even look that much alike. All they had in common was the blond hair and blue eyes. Will had wavier hair though. And bluer eyes. And freckles. And a toothier grin. And a tan that made Nico feel warm inside, remembering that shirtless picture he sent them via email with him standing in front of the sandcastle he _swore_ he didn’t use magic on.

His fingers dug into his arm. He shouldn’t be thinking of Will in that way. Will was his best friend. He couldn’t afford to lose one because he couldn’t control his hormones.

“Please take a few steps back and a few steps away from each other.” Julian instructed, freeing Nico from his thoughts. “Now,” Nico and Bianca stood in attention when they reached their places, “are you ready? Did you eat something? We should really ask them that before we start.”

“Get on with it.” Erin countered.

“Yes, we did.” Bianca answered.

“Good. This will be a little difficult for you but so far you’ve done amazingly.” Julian said. “As usual, we’re starting with an exercise. Today, however, we’re also testing your reaction time as well as your ability to carry out multiple manipulations. Erin will time you.” On cue, Erin held up a couple of timers. “Any questions?”

Bianca’s hand went straight up. “Will you tell us what we’re manipulating?”

“As I am tossing the balls at you, yes.” Julian answered.

“What do we do with the manipulated ball?” Nico asked, purposefully staring at the balls and not Julian to keep any thoughts at bay.

“Hold it up in the air while you manipulate the next one _while_ keeping the manipulation up.”

Nico glanced at Bianca, who was already counting how many balls hung in the air and dividing it between them. She was going plow through them easy. Nico was trying to remember how to multitask. In doing so, he relieved himself from the burden of being a teenager with teenage desires. Nerves always trumped his urges.

The thing with intuitive magic was that, though it was as natural as breathing at this point, it was still the most nebulous out of all they were taught. It was all feeling and will.

They had to feel what they were manipulating. They had to _know_ the feeling of what they were manipulating it into. They needed to be _aware_ of so many things on an atomic level that almost felt like science had they been taught that way. That would’ve been easier, in a sense. Temperature. Color. Structure. Mass. Density. Momentum. Matter. State. Emotion. Magnetism. Gravity. Space. Time. Natural. Supernatural. These were few of the many things they had to think about when manipulating an object. More so when wringing it into existence. 

Then they had to will it so. They needed to push the boundaries of reality. Play with it. Bend it. Twist it. Unravel and then stitch it together. Reality did not like to be bossed around too much. They had to be more stubborn than it was.

Nico was stubborn himself. If he were able to, he’d make a joke about the complexities of manipulating reality and then relating to himself. He wasn’t able to. He couldn’t even begin to think about where to start that joke.

Nico gulped when all of these things flew past his eyes and through his mind.

“Nico,” Erin said reproachfully, “your nerves.”

“Yeah.” He nodded, telling himself to calm down and to go on his own pace, not Bianca’s. Bianca smiled at him encouragingly. Part of him wanted to blame the time limit. They should’ve known that he would not perform his best under a time crunch _and_ with Bianca in front of him.

Then again, outside a controlled setting, a time crunch would be the last thing he would worry about.

“On my mark.” Julian announced. The first two balls eased themselves out of the group and in front of Nico and Bianca. It was like they were gearing up for a performance of their own. Being surrounded by empty chairs they once sat in themselves made them a little nervous sometimes, as if an audience would arrive to judge them.

That was part of the plan, among the Clarkes and the Murrays. Like the search for their father wasn’t enough motivation. They thought simulating an audience would push them a step further, no matter how short that step might be. Also they could afford to impede Merlin’s practices in favor of teaching the youth. Merlin was all for it. He liked practicing in the courtyard sometimes.

“Temperature.” The balls shot towards them so fast they barely had time to put their hands up. They both feel its weight, as if they were holding them. Bianca stopped it first. Her fingertips brushed against the smooth black surface. Exhaling, her hand traced the air around it, making it shimmer as heat rose from it. Nico couldn’t stop it until it was inches from his face. His eyes narrowed as frost covered his reflection.

“Color.” Before Nico knew it, another ball was hurtling toward him. This time he caught it with an outstretched hand. He glanced at Bianca. Her previous ball was still shimmering with heat as it floated over her head. The ball in front of her was already green. “Be creative! Don’t just go for a solid color.” Bianca made it glitter.

Nico’s first ball flew up as he spun the second one in the air. “Shape.” Julian said. Nico cursed in his head. Bianca was already creating a spire out of her ball while he was stuck with colors. The color starts switching from color to color in a gentle gradient. The ball zipped through the air as soon as the gradient ball started rising. It shattered when Nico panicked.

“Sorry.” He called as he reformed the ball. He curled his fingers, turning it into a perfect cube.

“Element.” Julian continued.

“Four elements or chemical elements?” Bianca asked. Her ball was already half gold, half fire.  

“Chemical.”

“Careful, Nico.” Erin warned. “Keep your previous manipulations up.” A ball was rocketing towards him now, catching it between both of his hands. His cube shuddered. The two balls floating above him wavered but he managed to keep them up. They almost fused together. Nico cursed under his breath.

“Four elements this time, Bianca.” Julian said, tossing another ball at her direction. It was aflame before it got near her. “Stay focused, Nico. No need to rush.” He smiled. Nico disliked it when he smiled. That made him more handsome. More like Will.

Just then, his gold ball melted into water.

“ _Merda_.” Nico sneered.

“Nico, your temper.” Julian reminded. Nico bit the inside of his lips hard in an attempt to satisfy a part of his frustration. The water formed itself into a ball. “Visibility.”

As another ball whizzed to his direction, Nico held both of his hands up just to keep them from hitting him. Bianca, obviously, had turned hers invisible. Meanwhile, he had three in his hands. He wanted to catch up with Bianca. He wanted to seem as good as Bianca. He also knew that there was no use trying to be Bianca. He was reminded of what he told Maria before she agreed to let him leave. Being here was proof of that.

And though Bianca wanted to slow down to help Nico, she knew she shouldn’t. Nico wouldn’t want her to. She didn’t want to either. Not that she was boasting for the audience, she knew she shouldn’t sell herself short for the sake of her brother’s feelings. Nico would grow that way.

“Nico, don’t lag too far behind.” Julian said as he flung a couple more balls their way. “Durability.”

The ball of water flew up in time for him to catch the next one. It crumbled first. Then one ball turned into gold as the other turned slightly opaque.

“Very good!” Erin called. Nico smiled. Strained as it were, the various manipulations plaguing every thought he had, he was happy that he managed to catch up with Bianca.

“State of matter.” Julian announced.

“Excuse me?” Nico asked, catching the next ball.

“Liquid, Gas, or Plasma.” Bianca replied. She turned hers into a big glowing neon orb.

In response, Nico turned his into liquid. It twisted around him before finding its spot amongst the others, undulating subtly. “Thanks.”

“No problem”

“Sound.”

Carrying out manipulations was hard enough. Holding them together for half an hour while doing more was putting a strain on their energy. They did twenty of them. That was more than they’d ever done in the last few months that they were learning magic. It felt like Julian and Erin were pushing them farther than they were ready but since everything remained as they were, for the most part, as the Clarkes checked them for improvements, Nico and Bianca realized they’d grown in that respect.

As far as exercises went, this was not as bad as that time they tried to switch organic and inorganic objects. (In Nico and Bianca’s defense, the Clarkes should not have used live animals.) They were exhausted, but in a good way. Like they actually did something meaningful. In reality, they did nothing but played with a ton of balls and got a wicked headache but at least they knew how far their powers could stretch and how many manipulations they could do in one go. There was that.

Bianca had less to improve upon, obviously. She and Erin spent the remainder of the exercise discussing how they were going to move forward lesson-wise.

Meanwhile, Julian had Nico redo some of his manipulations, telling him all the things that went wrong and offering him solutions to those problems. Nico tried to focus on what Julian was saying and not on his lips.

He wished he could tell him how distracting this was without sounding like a pervert.

He then thought about Will’s lips. Like a pervert.

“Nico, you mostly struggle with balancing multiple manipulations.” Julian said after Nico released his manipulations. “Don’t be discouraged. That’s a perfectly normal difficulty that I used to have when I was your age. To be frank, you’re doing a better job than I was. I would’ve fainted.” He chuckled.

“I’ll do better next time.” Nico promised.

Julian patted his shoulder, making Nico seize up. “Try not to strain yourself.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Bianca may be ploughing through these lessons but you’re doing better than we all expected, okay? Remember to go your own pace.” Nico nodded.

“Okay,” Julian turned to Erin and Bianca, “let’s continue with the lesson. Erin, get out the potted plants and the printouts.”

The Clarkes spent that hour summarizing all the ways that they could manipulate certain plants, ranging from flowers to trees to food. Nico and Bianca followed with the printed version which had more detailed explanations. There were sixty pages of it. Yet another thing for them to read to pass the time between lessons and work.

Class ended with Merlin announcing that his show was about to start and that Poppet and Bailey wanted to talk to the di Angelos.

“Just as well.” Erin said, glancing at her watch. “I have to slip into my contortionist costume. I forgot I have to do rounds. I’m have too much fun with you two.” She kisses both Nico and Bianca on the cheek before running off.

“We’ll practice speeding up the growth process of flowers later, yeah?” Julian said. The di Angelos nodded excitedly.

“Are you sure you’re not rushing them, Son?” Bailey Clarke, the circus proprietor, asked as he and Poppet entered the room. “We can’t have another accident.”

Julian rolled his eyes playfully. “ _One time_ , Pops. Trust me, these two are fast learners. They always catch up.” He winked. Nico wanted to run away.

“You worry too much.” Poppet added.

“We promised their mother we’d take care of them.” Bailey argued. “How are you two feeling?”

Bianca glanced at Nico, who shrugged. “A little tired,” she answered, “but we’re still ready for the rest of the night.” Nico nodded. “Julian and Erin are great teachers. We have a ton of fun.”

“Thank you.” Julian said.

“We’re very happy that you have fun.” Poppet grinned. “And very proud.” She pinched Julian’s cheek and he laughed.

“I don’t think that’ll change any time soon, Poppet.” Bianca said sincerely. “Nico and I are having the time of our lives.” Nico smiled.

“We’re making sure of that every time we ask.” Poppet said. “Just as we’re making sure we’re doing whatever it takes to find your father.”

Bianca and Nico’s smiles dwindled at the mention of their father. The people in the circus that knew him didn’t know that Hector was missing until the di Angelos showed up and told them that he was. That was a strange blow to them. The one potential lead they had towards finding their father disappeared before it could become concrete.

Hector was more like Nico than Nico himself thought. He was closed off and private. They were friends with Hector but knew the bare minimum about him. Much like Maria. Much like Bianca and himself.

Thinking about it made Nico’s frown deepen. Had Hector been more open, he could’ve been found faster or he could’ve asked for help with whatever made him run off in the first place. Nico couldn’t help but think that he could turn to Hector one day if he continued to be silent.

Sensing the sudden thickness of the tension, Bailey quickly stepped towards them, offering them a bundle of paper and envelopes tied together by string. “These are all of the letters we got from Hector.” He said. “It’s not much and we haven’t found anything when we went through it but we thought to give you a chance to look over them yourselves in case we miss anything or if you sense anything.”

Nico took the bundle, his eyes widening at the thought of getting to know their father in such a way. “Thanks.” He said.

“We’ll see what we can find.” Bianca said, looking at the bundle too, wondering what they were going to read.

“I hope you have more luck that we did.” Bailey said sheepishly. “Ask your mother about it, if you can.”

“And if nothing else, I hope you feel more connected to him, my dears.” Poppet said.

“Thank you.” Bianca and Nico replied.

Bailey clapped his hands. “Alright. The night’s already begun. Take your time getting ready, alright? This is a huge thing we’ve dropped on you.”

Bianca shook her head. “No. It’s fine, Bailey. I promised Castor that I’ll cover for him tonight, Pollux being sick and all. I should be going now.”

“Lisa’s letting me help bake. There’s been a spike in the demand for cinnamon twists and marble cake pops.” Nico added.

Bailey and Poppet smiled at each other. “Hop to it then.” Poppet said.

Bianca and Nico exited the tent with Julian. “That’s a good time to practice. With Lisa, I mean.” He pointed out. “One cake pop at a time, though.” He laughed.

“I’m sure Nico is good enough to do more than one, right Neeks?” Bianca asked.

Nico missed hearing Will laugh.

“One cake pop at a time.” Nico nodded at the bundle of letters.

Bianca didn’t comment until Julian was called off by one of the performers. “You okay?” She whispered.

“Yeah.” Nico couldn’t convince himself. “It’s…the letters. I want to read them but I don’t know if I’m ready to find anything.” He lied. It was more believable than the last one.

“Right. We’ll read it together. I’m sure it’ll be fine.” She reassured. “Dad’s not a horrible person. I hope.”

“Me too.” Nico sighed. _Now_ he was worrying that their dad was a horrible person. He was comforted by the thought of him being friends with the Clarkes and the Murrays. Any friend of theirs couldn’t be bad, right?

He’d much rather toil over why he wasn’t telling Bianca about his sexuality and his sudden crush on their best friend. Thinking about Hector was much more disheartening.

“Get to the kitchens. Lisa’ll be looking for you.” Bianca holds out her hand. “I’ll take the letters to our room.”

“Okay.”

* * *

The circus was just as entertaining behind the scenes. Not to mention louder.

As all members of the staff weren’t permitted to talk around the patrons, they let their mouths fly off as soon as they were out of sight. They talked shop, most of the time, especially with the night in full tilt. There were costumes that needed fixing, tents that needed attending, and treats needed delivering. Performers rave about their audiences. They talk about the handsome and beautiful patrons that caught their eyes, wondering aloud of they should hunt them down during their breaks. Most of these conversations happened while they practiced too. It was a sight to see. Sword dancers tossing their blades into the air while laughing at something a fire sculptor said. An acrobat discussing their costumes with the animal trainer while balancing on a jaguar’s shoulders. The tent mechanic grumbling about how she wasn’t trained to look at that magical carousel while the guy from the fish tank tent promised her swimming after hours as his gold fish practiced in his small tank behind him.

More exciting yet, they talked to the di Angelos.

It was surreal, the first time they were spoken to. More surreal when the staff immediately wrapped them into the circus fold with enthusiasm. New members, they exclaimed. New magic, they added. Never in their lives had they ever felt like anyone was genuinely interested in them without reservations until they started living in the circus. And in those first few days, the performers asked what they could improve though Nico and Bianca couldn’t fathom the possibility that the circus could get any better.

Though their novelty had long past and they were as much a part of the circus as any other, everyone was still warm and inviting. They said hello when they weren’t rushing from tent to tent. It was never just the two of them at any meal. Nico and Bianca could ask them questions without feeling judged or feeling like a nuisance. There wasn’t even a toxic social hierarchy to be afraid of. While there were tight-knit groups, no one was ever considered better. The Clarkes made it a point to be friends with everyone in the circus.

Nico was especially surprised by the environment he was thrust into. He was so used to expecting the worst in people that he cried as soon as he was out of sight after the first week of everyone being nothing but friendly. He was so sure that it would turn sour quick. His powers were going to make him different again. He knew that not everyone in the circus had magic and it was all going to go wrong as soon as his training started. Bianca tried her best to reassure him that it was never going to happen.

There were times Nico’s powers would make people shy away when they were alone with him but they made an effort not to make it too obvious. Not a week later, Erin addressed his aura with him. Since then, more and more people started conversations with him without Bianca nearby. Then he made friends. Then he had other people to talk to aside from Bianca and Will.

It was a wonderful feeling, to be in a place where he felt like he belonged. To be surrounded by people who didn’t want to do him harm. Suspicions and paranoia came from time to time but Nico found it easier to brush off.

He still scared people at times even when he learned to grasp this facet of his abilities better. Nico was in no way, shape, or form, a boisterous or particularly dramatic person. His small, silent presence and his half-hesitant smile was as far as he went out of his shell. At least, with the friends they made right now. Even with Bianca and Will, he was a little reserved. It came as no surprise that people would often jump when he spoke or when he walked by them without a word or when they saw him sitting alone, still and pondering what he had read. But it was better now.

No one was _really_ afraid. Nico was a good kid; it was common knowledge. All he wanted was to help. All anyone needed was to get used to him popping up and being in silent corners.

Nico was aware of everyone’s effort. He could feel it behind their forced calm and their steadied cadence. He liked that. He liked that they tried even he made their instinct said otherwise. It made him happy, something he didn’t think he could find anywhere.

Bianca noticed this shift in her brother. She noticed how Nico would laugh more often and without thinking. Nico started to initiate conversations on his own, still quiet, still shy, but that was better than staying in their room all day. Nico needed her less now and Bianca didn’t mind. She knew one day it would happen. Nico didn’t think it would but she did. And it was one less thing to worry about.

She watched Nico talk to Leo, one of the fire dancers, and Leo laughing then ruffling Nico’s hair. Nico smiled at Leo then at Bianca. It was beautiful. Seeing her brother this way made her heart settle into contentment. If they never saw their father again, it would be all still worth it with them being part of this place. Part of something bigger.

“What are you two doing here?” Bianca asked as she approached the boys. It was the end of the night. The sun was starting to fill the sky with color. Everyone was bringing their products back to inventory. “Especially you. You’ve got no business here.” She said to Leo. Nico was tasked with helping the statues down their pedestals and with their costumes. He often stuck around to walk with Bianca to the inventory.

Leo shrugged. “Tonight’s performances got me all energized. I don’t feel like slowing down yet so I figured… I’d help out.” He shrugged again, kicking the ground.

Bianca and Nico shared a glance. Nico knew for a fact that Leo wasn’t helping out anyone else. Nico pursed his lips, trying not to laugh. Bianca bit down on hers. “Is that so?” She chuckled.

“Yeah.”

“Here.” She handed him the two crates of chocolate mice she didn’t sell. She took the money box off the top. It did not make it weigh less. Nico’s shoulders shook. Bianca draped her arm around Nico’s shoulders and said, “C’mon, before they lock up.”

“Okay.” Leo huffed. “How was your night?”

“Pretty okay.” Bianca replied. “I’m more interested in your night. You perform. I just sell food and not talk.”

“You also learn magic.” Leo pointed out.

“You’ve heard all about how that goes already.” She said.

“Yeah, but I like hearing you talk.” He blurted. He immediately looked like he wanted drop the crates and run for the folds.

Bianca almost stopped walking, surprised at how forward Leo was being tonight. She was used to him beating around the bush. Nico was too. His face colored on behalf of Bianca. “I’ll go.” He said, jogging to a different entrance.

Leo and Bianca watched him go before facing one another again. “Did I make things weird?” Leo asked, already kicking himself for even speaking.

“Nah.” Bianca lied. She didn’t like lying but she didn’t like hurting people’s feelings more. It wasn’t _completely_ weird. She was caught off guard, sure, but it wasn’t weird. She knew she was at that age where she would get some attention. Most of the people in the circus already had relationships so she was one of the few available people to flirt with. Logically, this was bound to happen.

“Are you sure?” He asked again.

“If you keep asking, it will.” She replied, smirking. She laughed at Leo’s panicked expression as he scrambled for a conversation starter. Bianca had to admit, the attention she was getting made her feel good about herself, even though she knew it was probably out of proximity instead of actual attraction.

She was deluding herself, of course. Bianca was one of those people who didn’t think they were incredibly attractive when they were. She was one of the fairest of them all. Patrons came to her stall to see her more than they wanted the treats. She would brush it off. Looks didn’t matter to her as much as magic. In that respect, she would let herself boast a tiny bit and would agree that yes, she was good at it.

That was one of the reasons why people liked her so much, her attitude towards herself and to others.

As Bianca assisted Leo’s stumbling words, Nico watched with mild jealousy at how easy Bianca made it look.

She made a _lot_ of things look easy.

Nico felt so silly to be jealous of this too. Not to mention awful. Not to mention petty. He found that it was easier not to be jealous of his sister when he was younger, since she seemed so much older then. Now that they were both teenagers, Nico found it more challenging. Not that he would _ever_ let it affect their relationship. It was sad. Nico hated being sad and jealous. He hated thinking about how no boy was ever going to look at him the way they looked at Bianca. She was beautiful and confident and kind. Nico was literally fear incarnate.

He hated being jealous about this when he was learning magic. Attraction, relationships, love, and sex seemed insignificant compared to his lessons. As a teenager, he couldn’t help but think it was significant at times. He thought it when he heard boys gushing about Bianca. He thought it when he saw Widget and Apollo, Merlin and Arthur, Poppet and Bailey. He thought it when Julian was around. He thought it when he thought of Will. He thought it when he thought about his parents.

He tried his best not to think about it too much. Head down, focus on the magic.

When he reached the other exit, he saw Reyna, one of the youngest – also the most adept – sword dancers in the circus. She stood frozen, watching Bianca walk away with Leo. Though her face didn’t show it, she was angry with herself about that tiny crush she had on Bianca. What was she thinking?! Going to talk to Bianca like she was sure about which way she swung?! She was better than that. She was better than chasing after someone who might not even be attracted to her sex!

Although, she was still holding onto hope that Bianca was bi like her.

She was angry at herself for that too. She wanted to be angry at Bianca but there was no point in that. She couldn’t blame her for being so fucking beautiful.

“Reyna?” Nico said.

Reyna didn’t miss a beat. “Hey, I was looking for you! I seem to have misplaced a few of my daggers and Jason says you’re good at finding things.” She was going to ask Bianca this. What she planned to do when they were alone was beyond her at the moment so she considered this setback (though there wasn’t any real progress on the “is she or isn’t she” front) a blessing. “Unless you’re busy like Bianca…” 

“I’ve got time.” He said. Anything to take his mind off all of those thoughts that did nothing to help him. “Where’d you last see them?”

“If I only knew.” Reyna laughed.

A honing spell, four daggers, and an in-depth conversation about the art of sword dancing later, Nico was back in his room where Bianca was reading one of Hector’s letters. Nico yawned a greeting. Bianca waved a little. Nico fell into his bed, kicking off his shoes. He was too tired to change into anything or even brush his teeth. The room was already dark except for the glowing ball of light hovering over the letter Bianca was reading. Then, the light rose above her as she sighed, folding the letter again.

“I wondered where you’d gone. Thought you ran away to the circus or something.” She chuckled.

Nico hummed, smiling. “Reyna needed help looking for stuff. This place is in serious need of a working lost and found room.” He rolled over to face her. “Which one did you read?”

“The one where Dad asked for advice to tell Mom about magic.” She replied, facing him too.

“Didn’t read that one yet.” He said.

“It’s pretty sad. He was really afraid of losing her.” She said as she put the bundle of letters on the bedside table. “He loved her, Neeks. I could tell that he really, really loved her.”

“I don’t suppose he mentioned why he left then?” Nico knew it came out too harsh. He didn’t feel too bad about it.

 “No.” Bianca sighed. “No visions either.”

“Why was he afraid? If they were so in love, why didn’t he tell her? It would’ve saved us the trouble.” He tried not to sound harsh this time. No one could blame him being irked. Hector could’ve done a better job.

“He worried that Mom would think he was using some love spell on her. And he worried about her reaction. He didn’t want to put their relationship in a position where she could reject him or where she could sever it.” Bianca answered. “I wish he did though. I wish he was braver than this. I guess that’s love, huh?”

“I wouldn’t know.” Nico said, after a long pause.

“Me neither.” Bianca agreed. “But…If it’s love, like _real_ love, then Dad should’ve told her. He was only giving part of himself. A small part, at that. If it’s love, there shouldn’t be any secrets, you know?”

That struck a nerve. A flush of memories of avoiding any crush questions and looking at boys _way_ too long arrived too fast. Nico felt his throat clog up. “Yeah.” He squeaked, turning to the ceiling.

“Right?” Bianca said. “Magic is this _huge_ part of him. If he really did love Mom, and if he really thought that Mom loved him the same way, he should’ve told her so she knew who she was loving. It seems so unfair now. Their relationship, I mean.”

Nico nodded. “Do you think he would’ve told her, in the end?”

“With us around? Definitely.” She said. “I mean, the powers are hard to hide.”

Nico chuckled over his nerves. “True.”

“How about you? Did you read anything during your breaks?” She asked, still watching him. This time, she was wondering why he remained motionless as he stared at the ceiling. Since there was nothing to look at, she could tell he was deep in thought.

“Not much. An invitation for him to join the circus. A letter about him meeting mom for the first time.” He replied.

“Oh? I haven’t seen that one yet.” She prompted.

“Love at first sight.” He said. “Dad was a little romantic though he didn’t write it down in too much detail. It was like he knew the moment he saw her.”

“That’s cute.” Bianca smiled. “I wish I could fall in love as hard as they did.”

“Sounds like it’ll hurt.”

“It’ll be worth the hurt. Love always is.”

Nico was silent for a long time. Bianca decided it was time for them to sleep, having been up longer than expected. The small light disappeared. She tucked herself into her blanket and got comfortable. Nico remained in the same position, staring at the ceiling, thinking about his family. Bianca was right, as always. There shouldn’t be secrets between people who loved each other. He felt bad now, having waited this long to tell anyone about it. Had this been what Hector felt? Had he put it off for so long that he thought telling Maria the truth _that late_ would hurt her? After all that time? All those lies? Was he more afraid of Maria being angry that he lied to her the whole time than he was about her belief in magic?

He wondered if Bianca would get mad he hadn’t told her sooner when it felt so obvious that he liked boys. For a moment, he considered it. Avoiding her questions. Brushing her off when she was trying to make it clear that she wouldn’t mind. He must’ve pushed the subject away too many times. By telling her now after so long, she would think that he didn’t trust her at all.

Then he realized that was stupid. She was his sister _and_ his best friend. She wouldn’t be mad about this.

Nico shifted. The rustle of the sheets made Bianca’s ears perk up. Whatever he was thinking about, he was going to say now. “Bianc?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m gay.” He didn’t know why he was holding his breath.

Bianca beamed. “Okay.”

“Okay?” He exhaled. “Is that all you have to say? Okay?”

“What else do you want me to say, Neeks?” She laughed. “Do you wanna talk about _boooooys_? Do you think Leo Valdez is cute?”

Nico blushed. “I mean…yeah… I guess. A little. For what it’s worth, I like Julian.”

Bianca sat straight up with a brand new ball of light. “Ohmygodtellmeeverything.”

Nico didn’t know she would react so strongly.

* * *

_From: solace_william@gmail.com_

_To: NotNicholas_JustNico@gmail.com_

_Subject: I’m proud of you!!!!_

_I am! I really am! I’m so happy you told me! That’s plus fifty friendship points for the two of us! And I’m so happy for YOU!!! Welcome to the Queer Club!!!!_

_Don’t worry about telling your mom. She’ll love you know matter what, I know that for a FACT. Or “_ fatto _” as the Italians say lol. Yes I Google-searched that. You should teach me Italian when I get there! It would be SUPER COOL to learn a language not for magic purposes. Sorry for the tangent. As I was saying, don’t be afraid of your mom. She’s already accepted your freakish powers and let you go live/work at the most magical place in the known universe. Being gay is THE LAST THING that she’s going to stress about._

_You’re so brave coming out this early. It’ll get easier when you grow up, Dad always says. He says it to me even though I have no idea what I categorize as at the moment. You’re lucky that way. I’m sitting here like ??????????? Soon you’ll be casually dropping “he” where people would expect a “she”. Soon no one will even bat an eye. Not that I’m having visions or anything (THOUGH THAT WOULD BE A W E S O M E) but I’ve got a feeling that the world will be a better place for us in the coming years. Isn’t that exciting? How long do you think the magical community will come out too??? During our lifetime, I hope!!_

_Love you lots! Can’t wait to be part of the circus with you and have ALL the queer adventures!_

_Will :D_

* * *

_From: mariadiangelo@aol.com_

_To: NotNicholas_JustNico@gmail.com_

_Subject: Re: Important_

_I love you, Nico. I will always love you no matter who you love. Nothing will ever change except for the pronouns I use for the lucky man you will most definitely have in the future. I know you’re afraid. I can’t imagine what it must be like, writing that e-mail. You’re stronger than that, my dear. You’re stronger than you realize. You have magic too so you’ll be able to curse them if people are being awful. (Don’t really. But it comforts me to know that you will be safe in that regard.)_

_I miss you and your sister so much. The holidays aren’t the same without you. Speaking of, what are your plans? Where are you going to be? Tell me more. I know you two have been consistent with your e-mails but I feel like there’s not enough sometimes._

_Maybe ask for a break? Visit me here? Don’t worry. I have some friends over and I plan on visiting your aunts soon. Do ask though._

_Love always,_

_Mom_

Nico wasn’t crying. His eyes were watery and his vision was misty but he wasn’t crying. Not yet anyway. Now that all of the most important people in his life knew, a massive weight was gone and, with it, an emotional dam that he wasn’t too aware of.

He felt stupid, thinking any of them would react otherwise. Will, especially. His dad was probably the proudest bisexual in the world! If anyone, Will should’ve been the one Nico was most comfortable telling. They were best friends too. Best friends didn’t accuse other best friends of sexual assault when one of the best friends came out as gay. Will was not a horrible person. Neither was Nico, for that matter.

However, it did feel that way whenever he thought of Will in full crush mode. Not that Nico would _ever_ do anything to violate one of the few good things in his life. It was the hormones. He was a teenager with teenage needs. Will was _very_ attractive. So was Julian. So was Jason. And Percy. And many more boys in the circus. _Why_ he kept circling back to Will was beyond him. Was it their current relationship? Was it because Will was the only one who wasn’t in a relationship and was around the same age, therefore attainable?

Was it that horrible barrage of shirtless photos he sent them from his birthday party by the beach?

 _Stop thinking of those pictures, Nico._ He scolded himself when he started feeling as warm as the sand that covered Will’s lean torso. _Stop!_

He shouldn’t be thinking of such naughty things about his _best friend_. They were _friends_. Nothing more. They practically grew up together! Will was like a brother. Except Nico couldn’t bring himself to feel that way. Especially not at night. Not with _those_ photos.

But Nico respected boundaries. Unless Will _magically_ became attracted to him, he was going to content himself with being his best friend. That was how it was going to be.

He needed to move all of his sexual energies elsewhere to avoid any messy emotions that came with liking his best friend, one of the most _cliché_ things in the world!

Nico would not do a good job doing that but he didn’t know that yet.

Before he could compose a reply to his mother, having not-cried for too long, Bianca came running into the train’s computer room with a wild look in her brown eyes. Nico’s happiness came to a screeching halt. That look gave him a fright. Many things that could go wrong went wrong in Nico’s mind. He opened his mouth to say something but Bianca beat him to it.

“I had a vision.” She exhaled. Bianca shook a letter. “Dad was in a competition. I found the arena.”

* * *

_February 2012, Sierra Nevada, California_

It took them a while to get there. On top of the arena’s alleged safety hazard, Nico and Bianca had obligations to the circus that they needed to follow through. The adults promised to check on it first before they could. They didn’t like staying put one bit. They knew, however, that the adults would have better luck finding Hector.

They didn’t. That was why they were in the Sequoia National Park, bundled up in warm clothes and breath fogging into their faces. Widget had mentioned sensing Hector’s presence though it would not let itself be known to them. Nico and Bianca were the only ones capable of finding Hector from there.

They were excited, sure, why wouldn’t they be? Maria was joining them for an overdue visit. Will was there too, by virtue of his best friends and Widget. They should be having the time of their lives.

They were also apprehensive, insecure in their ability to _actually_ find their father with what little they knew and their not completely refined powers. All their joy was masked by anxious pondering of what spells they should use and what they would do if this lead would point them to the direction of Hector.

Their hearts stuttered at the thought of finding him. This was, by no means, bigger than anything they’d ever done in their lessons – they were fast learners – but having to do it outside of the confines of the illusionist’s tent was intimidating. Mostly for Nico.

He stood on the lip of a large depression in the ground, right across the entrance to the arena. He watched as everyone – Widget, Bianca, and Melissa, the eldest Clarke – searched for a stronger presence than the one he situated himself in. Meanwhile, Maria and Will were walking around, admiring the beautiful arena.

It was a garden fit for the circus. The entrance down this cave was as impressive as everything in this room, which was found within one of the giant sequoia trees with a sizable burn hole. There was a door and behind the door was an intricate staircase and at the bottom of the staircase was a vast underground environment of plants, statues, gems, and other stones. Breathtaking as it were, they weren’t there to sightsee. Not that much, anyway.

The garden was substantially warmer so everyone had taken off their heavier clothes at the stairs, not wanting to disturb the garden any more than necessary.

Nico wondered how Hector could’ve created half of this when his powers seemed to involve only terrible things. Darkness, fear, a stillness similar to rigor mortis, that was what Nico knew. Not delicate flowers made of precious gems and metals. Not the strangely colored, strangely shaped, but beautiful, trees that illuminated the cave. Not the constellation of glimmering lights above them. Not the glowing stream that cuts through the ground. Not the statue in the middle that changed its form – human to animal to great structures to nature then back. It was too whimsical. Everything was too goddamn whimsical. While he knew that there was another player involved in the creation of this garden, he could feel his father all over it.

Nico once thought he was a lot like his father. Maria and other relatives mentioned it. Now, he wasn’t so sure. He wasn’t sure how it made him feel either. He didn’t like mixing emotions too much. It proved to be messy.

He decided to be sad. Anger brought out uglier things in him.

A hand crept on his shoulder. Then he felt the rest of the body on his other side, squeezing him. Nico felt too warm now. He wanted to run out of this cave and back into the winter where he could calm down. “Hey.” Will’s voice made Nico’s s throat tighten in an effort not to even shiver out of place. “You were looking glum so I came over and try to cheer you up. Look, a friend.” On his finger was an absurdly large butterfly. It was the first animal he saw in this cave.

“You shouldn’t be picking up things. You don’t know what they’re capable of.” Nico muttered.

“It’s cute.” The butterfly fluttered its grand wings. It changed design and color. It was a non-threatening blue. Almost like Will’s eyes. Almost exactly like Will’s eyes, Nico realized. Down to the shifts in shades. He also realized that he’d been staring at Will’s eyes too much. He could also feel the distinct, unexplainable aura of his father around the creature. That helped him dislodge any thoughts of Will’s eyes out of the front of his head. For now.

The butterfly looked at Nico, bulbous eyes reflecting his jetlagged ones. Nico knew right away it was harmless. The butterfly made the jump from Will’s finger to Nico’s chest. Its wings turned a royal violet underneath an ornate web of black.

“Okay. Don’t tell me that isn’t cute as hell.” Will stood in front of him, smiling. He was taller now, broader too. He looked like a more handsome, younger version of Apollo, which was saying something since Apollo was very handsome and ageless. Will’s sea blue eyes came from the Solace side. They were warm and gentle and full of concern. Nico had trouble looking at them for more than two seconds.

The butterfly was fragrant. It smelled like rain at the beach but it also smelled like his mom’s ragù just the way he liked it – extra onions. It made a series of buzzes. “It sounds happy.” Will commented.

 _That makes one of us_ , Nico thought.

“I think it likes you.” Will continued.

“That’s nice.” Nico sighed.

“Hey… Shouldn’t you be happy? This is great progress in finding your dad. And, you gotta admit, this place is _impressive_.” He said, shaking Nico a little in an effort to cheer him up. Nico wished he didn’t do that.

“Yeah.” He sighed again.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s just…” Nico shook his head. “This isn’t the man I know. I thought that I took after him and Bianca took after Mom. That he was all about fear, like I am. Seeing this makes me feel disconnected. This is too _happy_ looking. Too magical.”

“I think that’s the point.” Will said, rubbing Nico’s arm. Nico wished he didn’t do that. “You don’t have to be _one thing_ when it comes to magic. Sure, you’re better at some areas, but that doesn’t mean you can’t thrive in others.” He paused to smile at Nico. “Okay?”

Nico couldn’t help but smile back. “Okay.”

Will hums, content at the response. One smile was enough for now. “Besides, I think that’s what your dad’s opponent wanted. Maybe they knew your dad was more adept at scarier things and whimsy would be his downfall. Considering he lived, they underestimated how good he is.” He squeezed Nico again. Nico _really_ wished he didn’t do that. It was making it difficult to un-crush him. “Don’t underestimate yourself.”

“Okay.” Nico was good at making his face not blush.

Will let go of him. Nico wished he didn’t do that. The butterfly flew off of his chest, circled him, and landed on his head, buzzing once more. Nico didn’t bat an eye. “Looks like statue training is going well.” Will said.

“Yeah.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to stay still for two minutes and you’re going to do it for _hours_!” Will walked around him. Nico felt exposed. “I can’t wait to see what you’ll be!”

“I could tell you.” Nico’s lip tilted upward slightly.

“ _Don’t_. I want it to be a surprise. I want to pretend to be a patron and see it for myself.” Will giggled. “You guys are _way_ ahead of me. Bianca’s doing the ticket booth now and you’re a performer. I’m more proud than jealous.”

“I’m sure you’ll catch up.” Nico said.

“I hope so. Dad says they’re considering additions to the circus and that it could be potential project for us if we’re able.” He said nonchalantly. Nico tried not to worry about _that_ right now.

Thankfully, everyone was heading back to the spot Nico had stayed on, not finding anywhere else with a stronger aura. Bianca giggled when she noticed the butterfly. “Only you would make a friend quieter than you.” Nico sneered playfully. He felt its wings flutter against his hair before it flew towards Bianca. It landed on her head too.

“Do you think we should name it?” Will asked, staring at the butterfly. “Let’s name it.”

“Only if it follows us home.” Bianca chuckled. “I don’t want to be attached.”

“Fair enough.”

“Shall we?” Nico prompted as he stepped off the spot.

“Yeah.” Bianca nodded, pulling out the map of the world she’d tucked in her back pocket. “Before the aura shifts.” The di Angelos glanced at Widget and Melissa.

Melissa raised her hands. “Uncle Widget and I think you should try to find him.”

“What if we’re not strong enough?” Nico asked. For the first time, Bianca shared his sentiment. Since the more experienced adults couldn’t find Hector, how could novices like them be able to?

“You are.” Will said. “No one wants to find your father more than you two.”

“I can think of someone.” Bianca’s gaze went to her mom.

Maria’s eyes watered. “ _Try, my dears_.” She said in Italian.

Nico and Bianca shared a look. Bianca nodded. Nico knelt down, pressing his hand on the grass. Smoke began to rise. The smell of burnt grass and dry ground pierced the pleasant aroma of the garden for a moment. Nico drew his hand away, revealing a rune. He looked up at Bianca. She knelt with him.

“Ready?” She asked.

“As I’ll ever be.”

Bianca held two corners of the map, Nico held the other. They closed their eyes, channeling Hector’s aura through the map and into the long-range honing rune on the ground. When they’re certain the aura was anchored and focused, they said in unison, “Hector di Angelo.” Nico felt his hands itch. They smelled smoke but felt no heat. Their powers flowed into one another, pulling them closer to the map. A shiver ran up their arms, down their spines, to their toes. Maria gasped. Soon, a bright glow signaled them to open their eyes.

Spires of light dotted the map, indicating a place where Hector had gone to. Nico and Bianca’s shoulders slumped. They expected this. With nothing of their father’s to actually use to scry, they would never be able to find his exact location. All they were able to do was see the places he’d gone to. There were a _lot_ of places. Bianca knew the world was a vast place but this put things into a real perspective. Nico felt sadder.

“This is impossible.” Nico sighed.

“When did he have time to go to these places?” Maria stared at the map.

“You’d be surprised.” Widget smirked, kneeling down with them. “This isn’t bad. Look,” he pointed, “some of them are brighter than the others and some are dimmer. Brighter ones are more recent. We’ll look for him there.”

Bianca nodded. “He’s right. This is progress. We’re getting somewhere here, Neeks.”

“There are dozens of bright lights.” Nico countered.

“It’s better than nothing.”

“Okay.”

Widget put a hand on Nico’s shoulder. “Don’t be hard on yourself, Nico. You did a good job today. You both did.”

“Thanks, Widge.” Bianca grinned. She turned his grin at Nico, who began to smile too. “We’re going to find him.” She intoned.

“We’re going to find him.” Nico nodded. “We promise, Mom.” He told Maria. For the first time in the longest time, Maria let herself hope for Hector again.

“I’m so proud of you.” Maria said, wiping her tears away.

“Looks like you two have plotted the circus’ route for the next year.” Widget chuckled. “That’s a weight off my shoulder. Thank you.”

Will peered at the map. “Oh neat! I’ve always wanted to go to Rio di Janeiro!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This thing is almost as long as the original I'm writing right now. While I'm proud of this, I need to focus on that project for a while. Don't expect any updates in April. May, maybe. Chapter six is a LONG ONE so maybe that'll quench the need for a while before I post chapters seven and eight. Again, it all depends on how fast I write things. I really want to finish the original I'm writing now before I go to grad school (I got into an MFA Creative Writing program in the States!!!) so bear with me. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!!! Tell me in the comments!!!


	5. The Sky is Awake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Circus of Dreams gets some color.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey. I wasn't supposed to post this yet but I was feeling pretty shitty and I wanted something good in my life so I got back on this fic. I'm a good 30% done with the final chapter. Depending on how badly I feel about the original thing I'm writing right now, the last three chapters might come in quick succession or the last chapter will appear at July. Either way, thanks for reading.

It’s the night of October the fourteenth and the Circus of Dreams is in full swing. Everyone is giving it their all.

You try to see it everything. You’ve been waiting for this night all year and you can’t believe you’re one of the first to enter the circus.

You go to all of the attractions that are doing extra for this particular night. You don’t slow down. You squeeze through everyone with barely an excuse. You _have_ to see everything or you’ll have to wait another year.

You’ll look forward to the next year impatiently no matter how much you see tonight.

There are two illusionists, banding together for one special performance. The once retired singer returns to sing songs from the ballroom tent, Broadway classics, and some contemporary bops for the more modern patrons. The trapeze acts are more daring. The jugglers juggle glass instead of steel. The fire dancers parade themselves through the courtyard. The contortionist plays with the statues, finding creative ways to join them in their pose before disappearing in a blink, only to show up at another platform. Even the stalls bring out their best treats, leaving everyone raving about one or the other as they visit the tents.

You try to take it all in. You can’t. You try anyway.

Late into the night, you’re still quite excited. You walk out one of the tents, knees wobbling with awe from what you saw. You hold on to a friend for balance. They laugh as you do.

As your friend tries to convince you to slow down, you point at a tent with a small smile. “Look, the Stargazer is open!”

The Stargazer isn’t open all the time. It’s only ever open when it’s a clear night and those are hard to come by in places nearby big cities. You wonder why it’s open. You then decide you don’t care. You run, as you have the last several hours. Your friend drags themselves along.

The line itself isn’t very long. Just enough to fill the existing seats, you calculate. Your friend calls you a nerd. You tell them to go to hell. You laugh again.

No one seems all that interested in the Stargazer and you’d be offended if it weren’t for the fact that it wasn’t a clear night tonight. You almost feel silly. Knowing that it’s the circus’ anniversary keeps you from feeling that way.

You look back and you see the tent’s folds have closed. You smile when your friend questions once more why you’re in the Stargazer tent when there’s nothing to see.

“There will be,” you promise.

Your friend says nothing more.

You two climb up the darkened stairs with nothing but the tiny lights forming constellations guiding you. You smile at the attendant, whose reciprocating grin surprises you more than his stark white hair. You get the last seat.

You sit down comfortably against the plush back of the carriage. You hear the mechanisms click as you move. Your carriage eases into a horizontal position. You see nothing but clouds. There are hints of stars here and there but this isn’t a night for the Stargazer.

You start to feel silly again but then the sky changes. You hear gasps from other patrons in the Stargazer with you. Outside, you hear people shout with delight. You clutch your friend’s hand in surprise. Your eyes widen with your mouth as the sky is illuminated by impossible lights.

At first, it’s a bud in the middle of the sky, overshadowing a star. It blooms slowly, like a flower. Petal by petal you see more light. Then, it bursts and you forget to breathe for a moment. Multicolor ribbons stretch into the darkness. Streams of color blend into one another as they flow into the air. The lights pulse and bloom. They seem almost solid at this angle and at this distance. Ripples of color fade and reappear against the black backdrop. Every wave of color sends a jolt of wonder and disbelief. In all the circus’ years, never have they done a feat such as this.

“That’s impossible.” Your friend breathes.

“It’s the circus.” You reply. “They’ve outdone themselves this year.”

You don’t know how far the ribbons of light stretch, but it’s safe to assume that they go far enough to capture international attention in the news. You are glad you dragged your friend in.

You’re almost sad that you have to get off the Stargazer. Knowing that others needed to see the lights at this angle keeps you from feeling that way. You thank the attendant, who admires the sky with pride. He nods, continuing to smile.

You want to ask him who orchestrated the sight but you know better than to expect a response.

You run outside and you realize you’re right. Color streaks the sky all the way to the horizon. You turn and see the circus doused in more color that you thought it would ever be in. You admire every bit of it.

You thought that your love for the circus could not grow any bigger – seriously, there is no more room in your heart for more – it does something like create a weird meteorological phenomenon just in time for their anniversary. 

Time to make more room then.


	6. Yes, It Is a Smile

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How gay can it get?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I know it took some time for us to get here but here we are!! Now, I'll try my best to finish this whole story by the end of August. The way my life is going right now, that's still up for debate. Rest assured, I'll finish this fic within the year. Thanks for reading!!

Will Solace didn’t believe in “normal”. The concept, to him, didn’t exist. The idea of “normal” was relative to every person, to every culture, to every species. To every situation, in fact. No one’s definition of normal can truly match another person’s. The subjectivity of it erased its purpose in Will’s life. It was an obsolete word. It was a word that shouldn’t exist by virtue of its lack of meaning.

Whenever Will got berated about being different, he consoled himself by the fact that though he did not fit into one person’s definition of normal, that didn’t mean he couldn’t fit into anyone else’s. What was one person? What was a whole group of persons? What were those compared to the billions around the world?

Will Solace didn’t care and that, in turn, made him happier. It made him accept his life for what it was. Strange. Different. Fun. _Magical_.

He didn’t have a conventional family. Or a conventional existence. Apollo and Naomi created him after a one-night stand. Naomi visited the circus. Apollo was a very horny young man. They had some (almost literal) hot sexual tension in the Fire Tent which culminated with Naomi bringing a stray performer to her home.

Apollo only found out when Naomi was having trouble making ends meet with the check-ups.

Apollo was willing to marry her but she turned him down. A one-night stand baby would not make for a happy marriage, she believed. However, Apollo was adamant that he stayed in Will’s life. They remained friends.

His life was an accident but he never grew up feeling that way.

Naomi Solace made it a point early on that Will didn’t have to have a father to be “normal”. This was the first of many thoughts he had on the concept of “normal” as well as “subjectivity”, though those thoughts were difficult to get a complete grasp on when he was still at single digits. He understood, _kinda_ , but his attention span always fluttered away.

One of the more adorable, albeit frustrating, qualities of Will as a child.

Naomi could do anything a man could do, if not better. Many men would balk at the thought of raising a child on their own while working a full-time, stressful job at a hospital. Naomi managed to do all that, periods and artistic endeavors included. She managed Will with love. She tried her best to be present at every school function, every game, every little thing in her little boy’s life. She did her best to buy him what he wanted but she never spoiled him. She didn’t have enough money to spoil him.

Spoiling Will fell on Apollo and Widget. That might’ve made her the villain from time to time but she didn’t mind. _Someone_ had to be the parent. For that, Will was thankful. He couldn’t imagine being well-rounded if Apollo had raised him himself. Naomi shuddered at the thought.

Much like the di Angelos, the Solaces were close. Will was open about his feelings, so was Naomi. Though they got into arguments about the circus, Will would always apologize for being a brat. Unlike the di Angelos, Will fit in with his peers. He was one of the more popular ones too. Not because he was handsome, though that factored in, but because he was simply kind. Everyone knew the kind kid. Everyone wanted the kind kid to bless them with his warmth. Everyone wanted to be his friend.

It also helped that Apollo taught him about his powers early on.

He couldn’t complain about his life where he was. If he wanted to, he could’ve stayed. If he didn’t know who Apollo was and if he didn’t have any powers, he would’ve stayed. But he did.

There was no place he wanted to be more than _Le Cirque des Rêves._ He wasn’t as passionate about anything other than that. Naomi tried to make him like other things when he was younger, subconsciously not wanting him to join the circus with his father. That didn’t mean Will hated all his hobbies. He enjoyed music and played a few instruments. He liked volunteering and helped out at his school’s clinic. Will was an intelligent boy with a future as bright as his smile, if he wanted it.

He didn’t. He never did.

From the moment Apollo first brought him to the circus, Will _knew_ that this was where his life was going to end up. He didn’t have powers then so he contented himself with the idea of working the stalls. Maybe the ticket booth. Maybe if he learned gymnastics, they’d let him join the trapeze (Will had a short lived gymnastics career – he broke his arm in two places). He would do anything just to be able to live in it. He would wash costumes, clean up after the animals, clean up after the performers, clean up after the patrons, do errands, sell his soul, _anything_ for 24/7 circus access.

Naomi felt like she could keep her son for longer. He would leave for the circus around twenty or something if didn’t find anything worthwhile to tether him. She knew it was a stretch but she wanted more for Will than to be part of a circus, no matter how wonderful it was. Like Maria di Angelo.

Then his powers manifested. Will didn’t know who was happier, him, Apollo, or Widget. Naomi contented herself by keeping him until he had a high school education.

Waiting to graduate high school was the hardest thing he ever had to do in his life. It was so much work for nothing. A diploma didn’t matter if he was going to the circus. The education he was getting was not the education he wanted. He wanted to learn more about his magic. He wanted to create new tents for the circus. Goddamn it, he wanted to know how to make fire _white_! School was so tedious despite his achievements, his friends, his talents. But he respected and loved Naomi. He was going to follow through this deal they had. He was aware that one day he would wish he’d spent more time with Naomi.

That day was not in the near future, but he knew it was coming.

Will quenched his thirst for the circus by constantly emailing Widget, Apollo, and a few friends that he had at the circus. Piper, mostly. She was part of the Trapeze act but she did some writing for the circus’ website. She was the easiest to talk to out of all of them. Percy and Leo were funny but they sucked at replying to emails. Reyna was fun too, once he got over being intimidated by her swords. She was the one who made Percy and Leo reply when they forgot. Then there were Bianca and Nico, his best friends, whom he emailed with constantly.

They were his connections to the circus. Reading all their stories got him through his constant ache he had for it. The stories hurt sometimes, especially Bianca and Nico’s, mostly because he wanted to be there with them. But Will was always one to look at the bright side. By the time senior year rolled by, Will got happier and happier with each day. Instead of focusing on the large gap, he focused on closing it.

He threw himself into extracurriculars just to pass the time. He more clubs and activities he did, the less time he had in the idea to aimlessly wonder about how long he had to wait before Circus Day.

(Circus Day, which was week after graduation, was written in big, block letters and encircled many times. Will also threw glitter on it.)

It was exhausting, sure. He was never free on the weekends, sure. But it was all worth it when all that time shot by in what seemed to be one, grueling day and suddenly it was summer and suddenly it was Circus Day.

* * *

_October 2013, London, England_

“Sir.” Will bowed in front of Nico’s podium as the circus turned gold that morning. His hair turned that color too. It made Nico miss the blond but he couldn’t complain. Will pulled off platinum white hair well.

“Stop it.” Nico chuckled, ignoring Will’s hand in favor of jumping off. “Why are you doing this? You’ve already been promoted to hot beverage man.”

“You think I’m hot?” He teased.

Nico was great at making it seem like he wasn’t blushing. “Shut up. Answer the question.”

“I like seeing the circus in the sun, don’t you? Also, you don’t get a lot of bright sunny days around here, so I like to make the most of it.” He said. “If I help the statues down and help pick up trash, I get to see it in all its glory.”

“We won’t be staying long. Apollo and Widget are worried you might actually wither and die because you can’t photosynthesize properly in this weather.” He retorted. “We’ll be off to brighter and greener pastures as soon as we pass another anniversary.”

“One hundred twenty-seven years.” Will’s smile broadened as he looked up at the towering courtyard tent. Nico allowed himself to behold him. His heart swelled to uncomfortable sizes. “Still going strong. Oh, to have _been_ there – on _the_ Inception Night!” Nico didn’t think anyone loved the circus more than Will Solace. And it was beautiful. He could stare at him all day long.

As soon as Will turned his head, Nico looked away. “Yeah.” Nico was great at pretending he wasn’t being creepy.

“One hundred and twenty-seven years.” Will sighed. “Do you think it’ll still be here a hundred and twenty-seven more?”

“I can’t imagine a world without it.” He answered. _Without you._ He thought but tried not to think.

“Me neither.” Will put a hand on Nico’s shoulder, drawing him in for a quick side-hug. “I better go do what I came here to do. I’ve lingered on you long enough. I can’t have the others thinking I like you more.” He leaned in. “Don’t tell them that I do.” He winked and started to walk off. Nico managed to contain the explosion of emotion within himself before he stalked off to the showers. Meanwhile, Will continued to be obliviously happy.

Nico really couldn’t complain. It had been more than a year since Will had joined the circus. Just when Nico didn’t think the circus could get any more magical, Will Solace arrived and everyday felt like sunshine.

A lot of progress was made since then. Will was catching up quite nicely, already at Nico’s heels in terms of prowess. Much to Nico’s dismay, however, as he hoped not to be lumped together with Will. He was a big distraction already. Will often visited Nico’s place in the courtyard during his breaks. That was how Nico found out Will could talk nonstop without any sort of reciprocation just to be a shithead. He did it under the guise of “testing” Nico’s statue resolve. In reality, Will did it for no reason than to laugh. For Nico, he sometimes thought Will did it because Will liked him the way he wanted Will to like him.

But that wasn’t the case, was it?

Will Solace, much like Julian Clarke, was not a sexual being. He didn’t seem like a romantic being either. Nico held out hope that Will could potentially be more than a friend but then he dropped it before that went on for more than a day. Or at least he tried. He tried more on some days, tried less on others. It was difficult, Will being a constant fixture of his day to day. But Nico knew that if he kept on going down this road, it wasn’t just going to hurt him, it would hurt Will too.

Pining for Will required a lot of emotional effort that Nico didn’t want to expend.

And so, even as he failed, Nico kept on swallowing his feelings and urges. When Will smiled, Nico focused on something else. When Will laughed, Nico tried to ignore it. When Will hugged him, Nico forced himself not to tighten his hold. When Will walked around shirtless, Nico would surround himself with cold air. Will was his _best friend_ , nothing more. Any more would be an intrusion of some kind. Or, worse, a violation. They would never be a “them” or an “item”. The sooner Nico fully convinced himself of that notion instead of holding on to every little sliver of hope, the sooner he could get on with his life and look for someone else.

Not that there was anyone else. Everyone was either straight, asexual, or taken. Discouraging? Yes. But, again, Nico couldn’t really complain. He was in _Le Cirque des Rêves._ He was learning _magic._ He lived with his best friends. He was a statue. He was surrounded by people who were not afraid or unsettled by him (for the most part). He was where he was meant to be. Just because he wasn’t involved with anyone didn’t mean he wouldn’t be. Widget didn’t find Apollo until later in life. Even then, it took them a while to get together, hence Will’s existence.

Patience was something Nico was learning on top of magic.

Nico walked out of his cold shower to his room, now separated from Bianca’s. They shared a wall, of course, but they figured it was high time that they had their own space after sharing one for so long. It was liberating, in a way. Nico didn’t have to schedule alone time with his hand around Bianca’s presence anymore. And Nico could practice being all by himself. He felt like that was going to be the case for a long time.

A knock came from the wall. With a short gesture, a part of the wall slides upward, revealing Bianca. “Hey, do you have that Chinese spell book?”

While Nico rummaged through some laundry for the books, the bewitched butterfly that followed them back to the circus fluttered through the opening, landing on his head. “Hello, Iris.” The butterfly buzzed happily. “Which one?” He asked as soon as he found two books.

Bianca stared at them for a long second before holding out both of her hands. “Both.”

He handed them to her. “Good luck deciphering them.”

“Thanks.” Bianca chuckled. She showed him a few printouts of an obsidian slab with a language Nico didn’t think existed. “ _This_ might help. We saw it while we were in Jordan but it took me a few internet searches later to figure out that we passed by the spell that could translate all spells.”

“That’s amazing.” Nico craned his neck to see more of it. Iris flew off his head.

“Yeah. I’m too pooped to try it out today but I’ll show it to Julian and Erin when we get the chance.” She said.

“Tough time at the ticket booth tonight?” Nico smirked.

“Oh my _god_.” Bianca groaned, throwing her head back. “Like you wouldn’t _believe_. Journalists are _rabid_ beasts. It took every ounce I had not to just fling them over the gates. The line was backed up for five minutes! You wouldn’t _believe_ how many people tried to sneak in today! Is the blog not enough? Is the official twitter not enough? Is the newsletter not enough?!” Behind her, something cracked. Neither of them paid it any attention. Bianca sighed. “I’m guessing your experience as statue was calmer.”

“ _Way_ calmer.” He said, resting his elbows on the table. “People avoid me most of the time. It’s all worth it though when a bunch of bros start pushing one another towards me as part of a dare.” And when Will visited him from time to time.

“Anyone catch your eye?” Bianca chuckled.

Nico snorted, shaking his head. “Too hetero.”

“Hey, you never know.”

“It’s not like I could _ask_.” He said. “If I try to talk to them, they’ll freak out even more.” Nico then considered adding a telepathic whisper to his overall performance.

“You’re planning something evil.” Bianca commented.

“So what if I am?” Nico retorted. “That’s my whole thing. I’m supposed to evil.” Bianca opened her mouth. “ _No_ ,” He rolled his eyes, “I’m not going to try and stalk them via the dream plane.” He continued blandly.

“Telepathic assault?” Bianca said.

“Yup.”

“I won’t tell anyone if you use it sparingly.”

Nico bit down his lips to keep himself from showing how excited he was. “Deal.”

“Bianca, hey! I’ve been looking for you.” Will walked into Bianca’s room. Iris buzzed again, turning into the color of Will’s eyes for a moment before reverting to black and white as she landed on Nico’s wall. “Ooh, what’s this? Is this new?” Will sat down on her table, taking the printouts. “What’s this for?”

“A translation spell.” Bianca supplied. “If I get it right, I’ll be able to use it to translate spells without fearing for our lives in case we misread a word.”

“And if you get it wrong?” Will squinted at the printouts.

“Let’s not think about that right now.” Bianca plucked them out of Will’s hands. “How was _your_ night?”

“Fan-fucking-tastic!”

“As usual.” Nico and Bianca said in unison. “Why do we even ask?” Bianca added. Nico shrugged.

“Don’t mock me.” Will nudged Bianca’s head with his elbow. “It’s so nice to see people super excited for the anniversary opening on the fourteenth! It makes me _more_ excited!”

“Slow down or you’ll combust.” Bianca teased.

“You know? I feel like I might!” Will giggled. “It’s only the single most magical night of the year! Rachel’s coming to perform! Erin and Merlin are going to do a joint show! And Widget allowed me to do that aurora borealis trick I’ve been practicing for, like, _ever_! I am _so_ pumped! Nothing can compare!”

“That’s what you said last year.” Nico pointed out.

“And probably the year before that.” Bianca continued.

“And the year before that.”

“Stop it, guys.” Will said, still smiling.

“I’m really excited for that aurora borealis trick. I know how proud you are of that.” Bianca said as Nico nodded. He would’ve complimented Will sooner if he wasn’t trying so hard not to feel anything.

“Me too! It’s going to be heard all over the world, I bet. The Northern Lights on the outskirts of London.” Will squeaked with his mouth open. His shoulders rose as if he had to squeeze that excited sound out of him. Bianca laughed. Nico’s felt his pupils literally turning into hearts. It was difficult to stamp down.

“Anyway, I back to the whole point of this.” Will said. “I was looking for you. Dad misplaced some of his art supplies and is too busy practicing for the fourteenth to find them. Can you help?”

“Yeah, sure. Easy.” Bianca shrugged.

“Cool.” Will said. “Where were you anyway? I couldn’t find you anywhere at all.”

“Did you check the girls’ bathroom on the _other_ side of the tent?” Bianca asked.

Will smacked himself on the forehead. “No, I did not. Damn. What were you doing there anyway?”

“I was helping someone else look for their stuff.” Bianca lied. “This place is in dire need of a lost and found.”

Bianca knew what she was doing was hypocritical of her. She knew that she shouldn’t be keeping secrets, especially not from Will and Nico. However, she allowed herself this one secret. She never had any growing up therefore she was allowed to keep one for a little while. It had only been a month. Or two. A month and a half! She was _allowed_! She didn’t _have_ to be a beacon of consideration and fairness and honesty! She was allowed to be selfish from time to time. Growing up, she’d done everything Maria asked of her, she helped Nico every way she could, after all! She was allowed this one thing.

She hadn’t _meant_ to keep it a secret. There was a moment that she briefly thought about telling Will or Nico, but the moment she realized that this was the first secret she ever kept in all of her years made her want to revel in it for a week or two longer. She just wanted to know what it felt like. The same way she wanted to know what a woman’s body felt like pressed against her own. And then pressed against her lips.

“Shh..Shh…” Reyna murmured into Bianca’s neck. “We’re playing a game, remember?”

“How is this game fair when you’ve got me pinned against a pole and my legs are off the ground?” Bianca panted.

“You instigated it.” She chuckled then rolled her hips into Bianca’s.

Bianca di Angelo considered herself heterosexual for a very long time. Until one inclement weather party. She didn’t think of girls in that way leading up to that night. She thought they were pretty, but every girl was allowed to think that. Sometimes she thought they smelled nice, but it wasn’t like she wasn’t allowed to smell. Sometimes she dreamed about having sex with girls, but she also often dreamed about boys, so she figured that it was her brain being weird.

And then Reyna happened. Not that Bianca knew exactly how and why she happened. She just did.

It wasn’t like she was drunk either. She drank but she wasn’t drunk. There was a difference. They’d just got to talking. Then whispering. Then kissing. Then touching. It never escalated into anything more. Bianca wasn’t even sure how to go about it as she never felt the need to touch herself. However, it did escalate.

Bianca couldn’t help but think that it had all led to this. Bianca thinking Reyna was pretty as she handled the swords with deadly grace. Bianca thinking Reyna’s room smelled nice when she came to ask about the freakin’ laundry situation and wondering what it would be like to wake up in Reyna’s room. Dreaming about Reyna was the last straw.

Before Reyna could agonize more about how she’d ruined her friendship with Bianca by letting her body take the lead, Bianca came to her room one morning and asked that they do it again.

“Just to be sure.” She had said. Reyna was happy to oblige. After watching guys flirt with Bianca for months and months, and trying to get her out of her damn mind for as many months, why wouldn’t she? It was a total dream come true. Did she pray hard enough? Did she unconsciously sacrifice an animal to the gods to turn Bianca a little bit more gay? Either way, she got what she wanted. More importantly, Bianca seemed to want it just as much.

Reyna agreed to being Bianca’s secret. She thought it was hot. Though it was silly to find a thrill in kissing while hiding it all from everyone when she could throw flaming swords into the air and catch them without batting an eye, Bianca’s giddiness was infectious. Not to mention being able to keep a secret in this circus was almost impossible. Her kisses were also convincing. Reyna couldn’t say no to those beautiful brown eyes. To top those reasons off, Reyna knew Bianca wasn’t ready to come out and say the B-word yet. She remembered how it took being part of a crazy magical circus before Reyna could say it herself.

And so, Reyna let it unfold with Bianca taking the lead. She didn’t mind. She took the lead in other ways.

Reyna’s rough hands pressed down on Bianca’s hips, squeezing a soft moan out of her. Their lips vibrated as Bianca turned it into a quiet hum. They opened both of their mouths again, sliding their tongues into one another. Bianca cupped Reyna’s jaw. Then one wrapped itself around the back of Reyna’s hair, pushing them closer. Reyna smiled. Her hands slid farther down Bianca’s skirt then up her bare thigh. Warmth crept up from there, following Reyna’s hand.

Reyna pulled away. Bianca bit down on her lips hard to suppress a complaint. “Is this okay?” Reyna asked. To answer, Bianca yanked her back into the kiss. Reyna’s hand traced the supple curve of Bianca’s ass.

On the fringes of their senses, they could hear people walking around, conversing, going about their day, unwittingly passing by their bubble of arousal. Bianca had a hand in their silence. From time to time, she would slip, whenever Reyna created another hickey around her collarbone and her shoulder. Reyna tried her best to make her slip. Bianca tried her best to cover those bruises up.

“You’re getting better at this.” Reyna traced the words into Bianca’s chest. She pressed their hips together again, smirking when Bianca closed her eyes and ran her teeth along her lip as heat shot through her.

“We’ve been getting a lot of practice.” Bianca breathed.

“Do you want me to try harder?” Reyna’s hands rose from Bianca’s hips to her chest, lingering just below her bra.

Bianca chuckled. “Hell yeah.”

Reyna hummed thoughtfully. Bianca anticipated Reyna’s hands to cup her, to hold her, to knead her into submission. Her mind went straight to a more horizontal situation, with Reyna’s hands somewhere lower and with a lot less clothes. But Bianca supposed she wouldn’t mind if they did it vertically and with some clothes.

Before Bianca’s mind could cook her from the inside out, Reyna crossed both of her hands over their heads, cuffing her wrists with one hand. Not one centimeter separated them. With her other hand, Reyna urged Bianca’s legs to hold her down. “How about that?” Reyna whispered. Her thumb ran along Bianca’s lips. Bianca nodded, kissing the thumb. As she looked into Reyna’s eyes, Reyna couldn’t help but say, “You’re so beautiful.”

This sudden moment of tenderness dialed down the heat down to a shimmer. Bianca smiled and pecked Reyna’s lips. “And you’re sublime.” She replied. Aggressive sexual experimentation could wait until later, they figured. Reyna’s pressure eased. Bianca’s arms fell to rest on Reyna’s shoulders as Reyna’s hands rested on Bianca’s waist. They continue to kiss, but it wasn’t as desperate as a few seconds ago.

“I better go anyway.” Bianca managed to say. “Class.”

Reyna nodded. “I need to practice too.”

Warmth always dissipated faster when they parted. Even when they try not to let each other go too quick in hopes to keep the temperature up, it always dropped dead as soon as they did. They both tried not to sigh. Truth be told, the secret was weighing on them a little.

“Will’s getting suspicious.” Reyna reported as they put their shirts back on.

“Is he?”

“Yeah. He knows I’m not practicing somewhere quiet anymore after he tried looking for me at all the quiet places.” Reyna shook her head, smiling. “He’s so sure I’ve been sleeping with someone in the circus but he can’t figure out who.”

“Being a willing participant, I don’t recall ever sleeping with you.” Bianca teased. “Is there another person I’m not aware of to give you such a glow?”

“No, you’re just _that hot_.” Reyna winked. Bianca smacked her right on the left ass-cheek. “Oof, I didn’t know you were into that. Tell me next time.”

“I will.” Bianca said as she peeked through the folds. “Coast is clear. I’ll see you later.”

“Yeah.”

They embraced, shared one last kiss, and Bianca started walking backwards. “I promise to tell them about us soon. With Will on the case, they’re bound to find out.”

“Are you sure?” Reyna asked. Not that she didn’t want it. She was worrying if telling Bianca about Will made Bianca feel pressured to tell the world. Reyna could’ve been more creative with her excuses. Reyna could’ve been subtler. The last thing she ever wanted to do was force Bianca to do something she wasn’t comfortable with yet.

Bianca shrugged. “I kept the secret long enough.” She giggled then walked away.

Reyna leaned against the pole and sighed. Swooned, really. Even though it started out as a secret and started out as a lot of making out, Reyna didn’t think she could ever be happier knowing that Bianca di Angelo was hers to have and to hold.

At the same time, Bianca’s mind wandered back to Reyna as she covered up any evidence that she was half-naked, sweaty, and had been kissing someone for the bulk of her afternoon. Instead of their encounters, Bianca thought forward. She thought about what it would be like to walk around holding Reyna’s hand. She thought about going on dates with her. She thought about going on double-dates with Nico and his eventual boyfriend. She thought about sharing a bed. Couples in the circus always shared a bed and that thought alone excited her more than anything else she could do in a bed.

Bianca arrived at the illusionist’s tent with a brighter smile than she always had, looking pure and pristine as ever. She was also there a full minute before Will and Nico. That gave her enough time to get off cloud nine. And to hold a book.

Iris the butterfly came after them, doing her usual rounds in the tent before settling on one of the chairs in the backrow.

“See. I told you we weren’t late.” Will said. Nico rolled his eyes.

“What happened?” Bianca asked. Then she saw Nico’s hair. “Oh my god. What have you done to my brother?” She laughed as she walked up to look at Nico’s brand new coif.

“Trying out new hairstyles. Nico had enough hair to pull it off so I thought why shouldn’t he try it out.” Will put an elbow on Nico’s shoulder and Nico jerked it away. Will’s smile remained intact.

“Where am I even going to do this? I can’t be a menacing statue if I have a fucking coif.” Nico grumbled.

“Don’t be upset, Roach Boy.” Will chuckled. “You can be back to your grungy self in no time at all. Grungier, I imagine, if you don’t wash it down properly.”

“He has a point.” Bianca agreed. “A messed up coif will add to your mystique.”

“My statue already has a look, thank you very much.” Nico argued.

“You’re still new enough to be able to get away with a minor change.” Bianca countered. “At least think about it?”

“Why are you on his side?” Nico whined.

“She’s always on the winning side.” Will answered. Nico wanted to punch his face but in a romantic way.

Before anything else could happen, all the Clarke siblings walked into the tent. The three apprentices’ smiles dropped as they stood in one line. They never came together. Sometimes they came in threes but never in fours. Something either went horribly wrong or amazingly right. Or about to. Their smiles relieved some tension but their collective presence kept them apprehensive.

“Don’t be scared. We come in peace.” Melissa chuckled, raising her hands in a placating gesture. “My siblings and I are here to tell you that we think you’re ready for something big. A project-slash-examination, if you will.”

“I _will_.” Will said. Bianca snickered as Nico groaned and shook his head.

“Your powers have matured and grown in a rate that we didn’t expect.” Melissa continued. “Though there is much left to teach, we all agree that you three are able enough to make your own tents.”

Bianca, Will, and Nico’s eyes bulged as soon as Melissa’s words sank in. “What.” Bianca squeaked.

“Oh my god I think I’m going to cry.” Will’s jaw set as his eyes started to gloss over.

Nico’s mouth opened but no words came out.

“Take your time.” Erin said. “When they told me I was going to take over for Merlin, I passed out in joy.”

Will raised a hand. “Permission to scream.” The Clarkes nodded. Will screamed. Iris flew down thinking that she was needed to calm him down, but when he started laughing and crying, she decided to fly away.

He hugged the di Angelos then he hugged the Clarkes. “I’M SO EXCITED AND ECSTATIC! YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH THIS MEANS TO ME! A TENT! A TENT THAT IS _MINE_! IN THE CIRCUS OF DREAMS! OH MY GOD!” The screaming spoke volumes but the Clarkes were happy to see him reacting that way.

Will forced himself to calm down to let their teachers finish their announcement. By forcing that, he started glowing. Literally glowing. No one called attention to it.

“For the next few days, we want the three of you to brainstorm and talk about what you want to do.” Melissa said. “You can do this however you want to do this. As a group or solo, it’s up to you. Next week, we’ll discuss your options, offer you suggestions, and approve the tents. We’ll talk about the actual _creation_ afterwards. Any questions?”

Will raised his hand again. “Am I glowing right now?”

“Figuratively and literally.” She replied.

“ _Nice_.”

“We’ll leave you to it. Class will reconvene next week.” She said and the Clarkes walked out of the room after congratulating them for the milestone. Nico and Bianca took a seat, realizing that their knees were wobbling with the rest of the room. Will paced around, his mind racing with possibility. They were all silent. Will continued to glow.

He opened his mouth but Bianca raised her finger. “Give us a minute.” She said. Will shrugged and went on pacing.

A tent. At the Circus of Dreams. They were able enough to dole out enough magic and them mold it into something tangible for _everyone_ to see. Bianca and Nico often dreamed of the day that they could do such a feat. But this early? At the same time? Nico thought Bianca would get her tent first. Now, the Clarkes were implying that he was on Bianca’s level. He felt faint.

“I don’t know what to do.” Nico choked.

Will twinkled at the sound. He knew his friends were in a delicate state of epiphany so he let his glow disappear and lowered his voice. “That’s the beauty of it. We don’t _have_ to know. There aren’t any limits to what we can do and what we can put in this circus.” He knelt down in front of his friends. He reached for their hands, giving them both a squeeze “You heard what Melissa said. We can do this as a group. With our combined forces, we can create something that would make the circus even better. It’ll be the next Labyrinth! I know that sounds totally ambitious but we can’t afford to aim low. Not when we can do what we do.”

Bianca sighed, turning to Nico, who was looking down at his lap. At Will’s hand covering his. “Will’s right. Let’s not freak out about it yet.”

“I don’t want to mess anything up.” Nico said.

“Have faith, Neeks.” Will said. “We’ll do great.”

“Yeah.” Bianca smiled. “We will.”

“We _wi_ –”

“Stuff it, you glowstick.” Nico sneered playfully. Will glowed again.

“Okay, Will,” Bianca gestured for a marker which then appeared in her hand, “tell us about your ideas and we’ll work from there.” Will started glowing brighter.

The three of them spent the next two hours tossing ideas between one another before they went to do their circus duties. Once Will got them going, Nico and Bianca’s minds were racing just as fast as his. Out of their group, Nico was the only one who could do his job properly since he did nothing but stand and stay still. Bianca and Will had their mishaps but it was nothing a little spark of magic wouldn’t fix. Their minds were bursting with inspiration as they watched the circus come alive. They relived the tents they’ve been in and the shows they watched. As people who adored the circus, it was difficult to think of any improvements they could make. They searched for ideas from what was missing. An interactive playground? An actual Ferris wheel without a wheel? A butterfly tent filled with butterflies like Iris? A light show? A fireworks display every other month? A room full of moving paintings? _Talking_ paintings? Them walking around doing small magic tricks? The list continued as the night turned into day at Bianca’s room.

“What about a horror house?” Nico suggested from the floor.

“Ooh, adding that to the list.” Bianca said, scribbling it in.

Will snapped both of his hands. “Aerial impalement. One’s in silks throwing knives at a flying target.”

“We’ll have to look for people to do that for us.” Bianca commented. “Plus, the Trapeze tent has the death-defying heights down.”

“Except this one is in a circular arena with people on the same level as the artists.” Will added.

“Still need to hire people willing to do that.” She said again. “But I’ll put it in anyway.” Will stuck his thumbs out. “Something like Harry Potter’s chocolate frogs, cards included, but with _caramel_ animals. The pictures don’t disappear either.”

“People will eat that up.” Nico said.

“Literally.” Will chuckled.

“Noted.” Bianca sang as she wrote it underneath “sudden merch ideas”. It sat under “circus tarot cards” and “circus prints”.

“Ooh. Something like the gingerbread house in Hansel and Gretel, only nobody dies!” Will exclaimed.

“Or we could put that in the horror tent and one of us could die.” Nico grinned. “I’ll do the killing. That’ll freak people out as I stand at the podium. Then I smile when I sense they’ve been into the tent.”

“ _Genius_! Evil genius!” Will laughed as he dropped himself on Bianca’s bed.

“Thanks.” Nico said. He’d gotten that idea when he cracked a very brief smile at a couple of girls standing beside his podium and they’d run away.

The room was silent again except for Bianca’s pen tapping the open page. Instead of continuing the race, their minds stayed on the tents and events they’d favored. It was a comfortable silence. One of many. Bianca realized they weren’t getting any more ideas tonight and closed her notebook. Iris landed on Will’s stomach, turning into a dark plum with little white dots. She did that when she felt tired. Will raised his finger. She hopped onto it with a droopy buzz.

“It’s late. We still have –” Bianca caught herself. “No class. Hmm…It’s been a while since we had a break for that long.”

“Mind you, we’re supposed to plan these things out.” Nico said.

“Let’s sleep in anyway. Maybe we’ll dream something up.” Bianca said, climbing over Will to the remaining space on her bed. Iris fluttered onto the table where she would sleep for the day.

“Yeah, maybe.” Nico sat up. “We’ll talk during the breaks.”

For a second, Bianca felt herself deflate out of disappointment. She wouldn’t have time or a decent excuse to run off with Reyna this time. It was such a shame. Not even coffee could wake her up the way Reyna’s touch did. Their time together was always a fun warm-up for the night.

“Good luck with that.” Will chuckled. “Bianca’s getting real finicky with the inventory these days.”

“We’ll do it while she does inventory or something.” Nico said. “That okay, Bianc?”

Then Bianca wanted to kick herself.

“Um…” Bianca propped herself up with an elbow. “I haven’t been doing inventory.”

Nico’s eyebrows rose. Will lolled his head towards her. Bianca felt silly even being nervous about this. Nico was gay. Will was… _Will_. She supposed it was because she’d kept the secret for too long and kept on putting it off until it was almost out of her control. She imagined them mad. She imagined them betrayed. She imagined them walking out of the room at the tail-end of an argument. Then she remembered they were Nico and Will.

“I’ve been doing…Reyna.” She turned bright red and wanted a redo of this coming out. “But not in _that_ way.”

Will grinned. “I _fucking_ knew it. I _knew_ Reyna was up to something!”

“Won’t this be a fun surprise for Mom.” Nico chuckled. “Not only are her kids magical, they’re also mega-queer. Kinda makes you wonder what Dad was up to when he was younger.” The two of them shuddered.

“Oh, what a happy day.” Will giggled, kissing Bianca’s forehead before getting up. “I’ll sleep with a smile tonight, guys. Thank you. I love you both.” He said as he walked out of Bianca’s room.

“How does he not seem annoying to me?” Nico asked.

“He’s Will Solace. It’s almost impossible to sincerely hate him.”

Nico nodded then rested his head on Bianca’s bed. “Tell me about you and Reyna.”

“Where do you want to start?”

“Well, I’d like to know what took you this long to tell _me_.”

“That’s not what you asked for.”

“I _get it_. You’re _smart_.”

* * *

One night they were hardly seen together, the next they were inseparable. Bianca and Reyna’s relationship caused some raised eyebrows, though not in the usual manner that was prevalent in the world outside the circus. They’d done a great job hiding their relationship that seeing them together was too abrupt for anyone to process. Then, it was as if that was part of their day to day the whole time.

Reyna couldn’t be happier, not that a lot of people noticed. Reyna had good control over her muscles and that included her face. Bianca was the blusher, not Reyna. Only those who knew her nuances that noticed. She laughed a little more. She talked more. Whenever Bianca did anything affectionate, her smile would reveal teeth more often. And in close quarters, without many witnesses, she always kept contact with Bianca, whether she wrapped herself around Bianca or had their pinkies linked. They tried their best not to be obnoxious. They were so good at that, any outsider wouldn’t be able to put two and two together unless someone told them. They had enough of each other behind closed doors anyway.

Whenever they did feel like being obnoxious, Reyna and Bianca would debate who was happier. Will, in hopes of keeping Nico from literally exploding, would end the argument by saying that he was the happiest out of the three. He loved seeing his friends happy, therefore his happiness was the purest. Reyna would often argue that. After all, she had the biggest crush on Bianca since she arrived and this relationship was a dream come true. Bianca used that as ammo to mock her at times.

They were the newest couple to look up to. The newest ones always seemed the happiest. It was that new relationship smell. Reyna and Bianca still looked high from it and this was the opposite of a problem.

Naturally, they wore dresses that matched during the Inception Night party at _la maison_ Lefèvre, which, much like the oldest members of the circus, didn’t look all that bothered by time. Had there been a contest, they would’ve snatched the hottest couple award out of Percy and Annabeth’s hands.

Reyna wore a stunning, sultry violet number that hugged every curve she had to offer. Bianca opted for a more modest look, though her hem was pushing it when she sat. (Reyna didn’t mind one bit as long as she was the only one touching.) Her dress reminded the older adults of Celia’s dress so long ago. Depending on where they stood, the dress was either moss green or a lustrous dark blue. Either way, Bianca looked breathtaking. Together, they commanded the room’s attention no matter where the conversations took. They were hardly ever apart.

Like all the other anniversary parties, there was a lot of talking. Past and present members of the circus mingled with jovial music and with drinks in their hands. Bianca and Nico could still remember the first one they went to. They were introduced to _everyone_. Bianca felt like she was reliving it with Reyna now that they were a couple. Everyone was happy, of course. Everyone was tickled pink to see them together, which translated to a lot of questions. Bianca knew it was a necessary evil. Reyna wanted nothing more than to run away if Bianca wouldn’t curse her something nasty.

“They can’t leave well enough alone.” Bianca grumbled in between conversations.

“That’s circus life for you.” Reyna kissed her temple. “It’s one big, happy family.”

“Now I know why Mom wanted to live as far away from our relatives as possible. Jeez.”

“Let’s another round of drinks, yeah?”

“ _Please_.”

They both had drinks in their hands at all times.

Nico did too. Only because this was the first time he felt like drinking and all the responsible adults were always ready to turn a blind eye to underage drinking if the age was only a few months off the legal drinking age. In the U.K. It seemed like the thing to do during times like these – parties with couples and dancing. Out of all the things Nico hadn’t experienced yet, getting drunk seemed attainable. As a vow of solidarity, Will drank when Nico drank. The wait staff was already avoiding them. Nico, though begrudgingly, was glad they did that. Will was looking so _goddamn_ handsome that night and Nico had _no idea_ what a few more drinks would cause.

After five glasses of champagne and half a glass of wine shared with Will, he was already fiddling with Will’s bewitched bowtie that was made to look like the night sky. He could at least use that as an excuse. “Have I told you how much I like your bowtie?” Nico slurred a little. His hand rested on Will’s chest. His toned chest. A chest one can only get after a _lot_ of swimming. And a _lot_ of taking shirts off.

He couldn’t make up a solid excuse for lingering on Will’s chest. He could cite the need to dance but that might make Will think he wanted to dance. Watching the couples dance made Nico want to drink more, really. All his feelings for Will felt farther away in this state. The thought of being held by Will as they swayed to the music pulled them closer however... He needed to stop touching Will.

Will didn’t really notice. He liked friendly contact. He expected contact from his friends.

“Yeah. You have.” Will giggled more than usual. Nico thought it was adorable. “You should wear gold more often.”

Nico glanced at his subtle, unrefined gold suit that Bianca and Will forced him into under a demand for “no more black, dear lord”. He supposed it didn’t look too bad. “It’s still too flashy for me. And I’d have to worry about all these colors having to match. I won’t have to worry about that with black.”

“I will have to remember to give your wardrobe a splash of color when you’re not looking.” Will smiled.

“Don’t you fucking dare, Solace.”

“ _There_ you two are. Jesus. Finally!” Bianca dropped herself on top of Nico and Nico accepted the distraction. “I forgot how excitable these people are.”

“Wait til you make your tents.” Reyna chuckled as Will hugged her tight.

“Hopefully we’ll be somewhere with more comfortable clothes.”  

“I can think of a place.” Reyna licked her lips.

Bianca blushed and Nico was aghast. “Oh _god_.” He said, making Bianca and Reyna laugh.

“Did I miss a joke?” Will asked Reyna.

Reyna patted Will’s head. “How much have you had to drink?”

“Just a _teensy_ bit.” Will replied in a _teensy_ voice and indicating how _teensy_ he drank with his thumb and index finger.

“Just a _teensy_ bit?” Reyna replied, chuckling, though not with a _teensy_ voice.

“Ya.”

“How about you, little roach?” Bianca twirled some of Nico’s hair that he refused to style. He sneered at her. “How much underage drinking did _you_ do?”

“I drank as much as him.” Nico said.

“I’m telling Mom.” She sang, kicking her legs into the air. Nico tried to push her off of him. Reyna caught her before she could hit the floor. “Oh I’m _definitely_ telling Mom now.”

“Bite me.” Nico retorted, drawing out the last syllable as he hung his head over the chair. He raised his hand and a martini glass appeared in it. Will clapped. Nico sat upright again. “Share?”

“Share!” Will said.

“Enjoy your hangovers.” Bianca said as Reyna led them to a chair beside Nico’s. Bianca sat on Reyna, kicking her heels off after a _forever_. She transported a glass flute into her hand. “Do you know what this is?” She offered the drink to Reyna, who had perched her chin on her shoulder.

“It’s white?” Reyna sniffed the rim. “Wine?”

“It won’t fuck us up then.” She tipped the glass into Reyna’s lips. Then she sipped a little. Her entire body was warm, not just because Reyna was wrapped around her. However, it did make her want more contact. Less clothes. More contact. Maybe snuggling. Maybe some other kind of snuggling…

She smiled at Reyna and Reyna smiled back then they pecked each other’s lips. Reyna caught Bianca’s lips again before they got too far. “Mmm…” Reyna licked her lips again, her eyes trained on Bianca’s lips. “Yum.” She murmured, though she hadn’t meant to say it out loud.

Bianca’s heavy eyes fell on Reyna’s lips then her exposed cleavage. She gulped when she imagined where that one word could lead. Reyna noticed this. To test the waters, she bucked her hips upward. Bianca almost dropped the flute. Her eyes widened and she held a laugh. She managed to compose herself with another drink. “Not now.” She whispered.

“I know. I’ll wait.” Reyna replied, cupping Bianca’s cheek. Bianca leaned against it.

“Oh my god. Rachel’s singing the next song. Someone dance with me!” Will flapped both his arms. He looked at Reyna and Bianca first.

“Don’t make us stand again.” Reyna said. She didn’t want to let go of Bianca or release the pressure that having her sit on her lap was giving.

Will turned to Bianca. She tried to tuck herself against Reyna. “I’m comfortable. If you love me, you won’t make me move.” Reyna kissed her cheek.

As Rachel started to sing, Will started to flap his arms more violently. “Neeks?” His eyes bugged out.

“No. You can’t make me.”

“Please? Pretty please? I really like this song.”

“How _old_ is this song?”

“Not older than the circus I can tell you that much. C’mon. Be a friend!”

“ _Why_ does this place have a fucking ballroom?” He groaned and tipped the last of the martini into his body. He scowled, wiped his face, and extended his hand. “Pull me there before I change my mind.”

“YES!” Will dragged him out of the chair.

He pushed his way to the center of the crowd, partially to be near the circus’ singer who returned from Broadway to celebrate Inception Week with everyone. He remembered her when he was younger. The first time he listened to her sing, it was like no other voice could compare. She drew everyone into the courtyard for her performance. When Apollo introduced them, Will felt like his heart was going to give up. He adored Rachel’s voice to the point of worship. And now, she was his peer. Sort of. In a way. It didn’t matter. He loved this song and he loved her voice. The closer he was, the easier it was to submerge himself in both of those things.

“You lead.” Nico said. “I have no idea how to dance.”

“Sure.” Will smiled and maneuvered Nico’s hands into the right positions. Just in time for the chorus.

“ _And it’s me you need to show/How deep is your love_ ,” Rachel sang. Will started to move them both.

Nico could attribute the happy, bubbly warmth in his stomach to everything he drank. He wanted to. He disliked everything about his thing with Will. All he wanted to do was return these brand new emotions for the sake of his old ones. Being infatuated with his potentially asexual and aromantic best friend was ludicrous. There was no point to it except _pain_. He trusted that Will wouldn’t have an aversive reaction. He _trusted Will_. But he couldn’t help that small part of him that reassured him everything was going to go to shit the moment Will found out. He didn’t want to risk that.

Thankfully, the alcohol was doing its job dulling his emotions. He could look into Will’s eyes without wishing they would look at him the same way. He could hold Will’s hand without imagining an alternate timeline where they were together. He could be near Will without wanting to kiss him. This was temporary, of course, but he was going to milk it.

“ _And you may not think I care for you/When you know down inside that I really do…_ ”

Will could attribute the happy, bubbly warmth in his stomach to this whole night. He was surrounded by people he loved. He had a ton of laughs. He got to play with all the cats. Dessert was amazing. Merlin _and_ Rachel talked to him like they were friends. (They were.) There was no reason why he shouldn’t be effervescent because of all these things. Inception Week was always a highlight though he’d only been a participant in a handful of them. That was another thing – it was his second Inception Week as a _member_. That should be reason enough.

But that wasn’t the case, was it?

“I’m going to spin you.” Will warned.

“Come again?” Nico grimaced, wishing he’d really misheard.

Will rolled his eyes and laughed. “Spin starts now.” Nico spun reluctantly. “Now stretch.” Nico stretched reluctantly. Then Will yanked him into a twirl and Nico’s back hit Will’s torso with a little more force than they’d both meant. Will laughed again as he apologized to the couple they bumped into.

“I feel stupid.” Nico grumbled. Though the alcohol did what Nico wanted at first, it was doing the exact opposite again now that he was pressed into Will with his arms wrapped around him. He tried not to enjoy it. He shouldn’t enjoy it. Will was his _best friend_.

He enjoyed it in a way only actions could articulate.

“Stop being such a party pooper, Roach Boy.” Will whispered into Nico’s ear. Rachel’s high note wasn’t the reason for the chills that danced its way down Nico’s spine.

Nico elbowed Will’s rib. “Stop calling me that.”

“Ow, that hurt.” Will said. Nico glared at him and Will grinned. He suddenly wanted to kiss Nico for some reason, which was strange. It wasn’t because he never wanted to kiss anyone else before. They were few and far in between, sure, but it happened. What was strange was that he wanted to kiss _Nico_.

Was it the song? The alcohol? The close proximity? The way Nico looked tonight with his golden suit that matched his cute brown eyes? Will couldn’t tell.

As he spun Nico out of their embrace and went back to the regular dancing stance, Will kept his eyes trained on Nico’s. His heart was racing. He wanted to bring Nico back against him to see if that was the reason for his heart acting this way and not because he was having a latent allergic reaction to the alcohol. He knew Nico wouldn’t allow it. He settled to drawing Nico closer. His nose bumped into Nico’s for a moment. Then his eyes wandered down to Nico’s lips for a moment.

“Your breath stinks.” Will said.

“That’s your breath, Solace.” Nico retorted.

He ran his fingers along Nico’s knuckles and he felt a jolt. As soon as their powers got used to one another, none of them felt that sudden rush of magic ever again, which was expected. That jolt was unexpected.

“You look like you’re about to dip me.” Nico narrowed his eyes. “Don’t.”

“I wasn’t going to but now I think I’m going to.” Will smirked, all these feelings pushed back in favor of figuring out how to dip Nico without having to subsequently defend himself.

Bianca and Reyna watched this all unfold from the table they vacated. Will and Nico clapped and cheered and asked for an encore from Rachel with the rest of the dancers. She conceded. Will bowed and Nico reluctantly took his hand for one more dance. Bianca sighed, resting her head against Reyna’s.

“Isn’t that cute?” Bianca commented.

Reyna nodded. “They’d make a pretty cute couple if Will were inclined.”

“You never know. Stranger things have happened.”

“Like you showing your stupid pretty face at the circus?”

“Oh stop.” She smacked the arm Reyna had wrapped tightly around her.

“Never.” She kissed Bianca’s cheek.

Will and Nico danced again without saying a word, which Bianca thought was quite telling of what might be in store. Rachel sang a more upbeat song. Surely, Will would be mouthing off or laughing at something. However, it seemed all he had to say were directions Nico should take as they wove through the crowd.

Though she expected Will to live a full and happy life without a significant, romantic other, this development was happily accepted. Will and Nico. The thought made her feel giddy. She remembered Nico’s crush on Julian Clarke and realized that Will shared some features that Bianca overlooked before presented with what she saw on the dancefloor.

Whether her intuition was right or not, she was content with how life was going for all of them. She smiled at Reyna. “What?” Reyna asked.

“Let’s get out of here.” She said, nuzzling her nose against Reyna’s cheek.

Reyna stiffened for a moment before she kissed Bianca’s lips and nodded.

The night was still young when they left the bottom floor where the party was. It was barely past midnight, people would protest. There was still food to be served, drinks to be drank, music to be heard, and words to be exchanged. But Bianca and Reyna had different ideas of how they wanted the night to go. Different flavors to taste. Different songs to sing. Not a lot of people had to know. Some, like Leo and Apollo, shot them knowing looks but they were too tipsy to care.

The alcoholic haze seemed to thicken once the music was muffled under their now bare feet. They stumbled into moving walls. They laughed while they kissed. They were more generous with the sounds they made and where their hands wandered off to. No one was watching anymore. Everyone was downstairs.

When Bianca fumbled with the keys to their room, Reyna made it difficult for her to put it in the right away. She mouthed Spanish praises into Bianca’s skin. Her hands had already unzipped the back of Bianca’s dress and were itching to take it all off. Bianca dropped the keys when Reyna nibbled on her earlobe. Bianca sighed, leaning into Reyna’s lean body. The dress was slipping already. Reyna’s finger was hooked into the strap of her bra.

“Fuck it.” Bianca flicked her wrist and the door flung open. Reyna chuckled as they kicked their things into the room.

Reyna kicked the door behind her then flipped Bianca towards it. Bianca smirked, hitching her leg up, pulling Reyna towards her. As their bodies met, Bianca couldn’t help but feel like they slot together perfectly. She leaned up for a kiss. Reyna avoided it.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Reyna murmured.

“Why wouldn’t I?” Bianca asked as she slid her leg along Reyna’s ass.

Reyna shivered. “I don’t know if you noticed but we’re a little drunk.”

“Holy shit. Are we really?” Bianca snorted.

“I’m serious.”

Bianca held Reyna’s face in both of her hands. “ _I’m_ serious.” They smiled before sharing another heated, body-numbing kiss. Reyna squeezed Bianca’s thigh with one hand and unhooked her bra with the other at the same time. Bianca caught Reyna’s bottom lip with her teeth. The anticipation made Bianca tense up. Everything Reyna was doing seemed to compound the heat that brewed in her stomach and the areas below it. And they hadn’t even _started_ yet. These were the _beginning_ stages. Bianca felt like she was going to burst the moment there would be full-frontal contact.

“Just relax, Bianca.” Reyna said into her thundering pulse. “You’re a fast learner and I’m a great teacher. Very hands on.”

Bianca laughed as Reyna sank lower and lower, peppering her body with extra hot kisses. “You’re saying this as if my mind will work the whole time to absorb the information you’re about to give me.” Bianca knew it wasn’t the sexiest of dirty talk but she had _no idea_ how _anyone_ could say anything arousing when half of their mind was laced with alcohol and the other half was on fire. 

“If that’s the case,” Reyna said from where she knelt, “the more time we _have_ to spend together so you’ll understand.” She was already sliding Bianca’s underwear down her thighs in a painfully slow manner.

“Is being a tease part of it?” Bianca breathed.

“The best part. When I’m doing it, anyway.” Reyna winked and then disappeared under Bianca’s skirt.

When Reyna’s lips touched a tender area of skin just above the knee, Bianca gasped. Reyna hushed her as her hands snaked upwards. Her warm breath hit her center and Bianca held onto the doorknob for balance. She closed her eyes, the rests in between her pants were getting less and less frequent as Reyna’s lips went higher. She moaned when Reyna bit the inside of her thigh.

Reyna lingered for what seemed to be _the longest time_. She kissed everything _except for the one place_ Bianca wanted her to.

But then… _And then_ … Bianca groaned as soon as Reyna made contact. Several fixtures of the room began floating off their respective places.

It took them hours but Bianca might’ve gotten the gist of it. Reyna thought she was a natural right before she passed out for the night. Whether she verbalized that or not was up for debate. Their voices were a little sore after the facts. So were their backs. So where their scalps.

On the flipside of that, Will and Nico were escorted up from the ballroom after drinking too much and started playing with their magic. Though amusing for most, _la maison_ Lefèvre was not actually _that_ sturdy.

* * *

Will woke up the next morning with a whisper of a headache. It was the first time he hated sunlight beating down his face. He did not want to move. He did not want to open his eyes. He was too comfortable to be awake. This seemed like an injustice. He _hated_ that the curtains weren’t drawn.

After a groan, he lifted up his hand and closed the drapes with his mind. Too harshly. And with that, Will’s magic was jumpstarting. He sighed into his pillow. He also felt this growing urge in his pants that he hadn’t felt in a long time. At first he figured it was pee. He could _ignore_ that for a few more minutes. He still didn’t want to open his eyes. Then his hips ground against the pillow out of instinct and it felt _so fucking good._ Will bit back a moan he didn’t know he was able to make after so long going without making a sound. He sighed when it was gone.

“Mmm…yeah…” The pillow wiggled against him. “More…Yeah…Feels good.”

Will’s eyes broke open. This wasn’t a pillow. This was _Nico_. He was grinding _on Nico_! And it _felt good_! Will rolled away until there was no more bed to roll off of. His feet caught him before he fell. He clapped a hand on his mouth to keep himself from waking Nico. Or, was Nico awake? Nico spoke, right? Did he hallucinate?

“Nico?” Will whispered.

Nico stretched and rolled over. He started palming the bed for something, his face wrinkling with concentration before his hand came in contact with a pillow. He wrapped himself around it with a small smile. “There you are.” Then his face went limp.

Will sank into the floor with relief. When he caught his breath, he looked down at his crotch. He was still a little hard. He couldn’t look at Nico. How _could_ he? Nico too?! Shame choked him. He wanted to apologize at the same time he felt silly. Nico was asleep. He was groggy. He didn’t know any better. Right?

He dropped his head into his hands. Last night came back in jerks and cuts. He remembered not letting go of Nico even after they’d danced. He remembered wanting to kiss him over and over again and not understanding it. Nico was his _best friend_! This was _insane_! Nothing can kill a friendship faster than one of them being sexually attracted to the other! Will thought he was immune to this!

(Then again, this was great data to support what he considered his sexuality to be. Then again, _why_ did he have to find out with _Nico_?!)

Will grunted as he pushed his head out of his hands. Nico nuzzled his pillow. Will wanted to crawl back to bed and replace the pillow. He remembered having Nico in his embrace that first time they danced. He remembered cuddling with Nico before falling asleep. He remembered how hard his heart thumped. He remembered how much he enjoyed hugging Nico. He enjoyed it more than their previous hugs for some reason.

“What changed, Neeks?” He mumbled as he rested his chin on the bed to stare at Nico’s face.

It was well within their reality that Nico would be attracted to Will. He knew it. At the same time, they were friends. Just friends! He didn’t want to lose Nico because he had urges that seemed to have been dislodged by alcohol.

Will was at a loss. He never had a lot of experience with these sort of situations, let alone a cliché like _this_. His first instinct was to tell Bianca, but that would be _super_ weird too. His second instinct was his father but he figured he and Widget had fun last night and he _so_ didn’t want to relive any of those memories anymore.

More sleep, Will decided, would do him good.

As much as he wanted to climb back into bed with Nico, he was awake and responsible now. He didn’t know what would happen if he stayed.

Will gathered his things and left with one confused glance at Nico’s sleeping form.

Unfortunately, sleep helped very little. Then he thought maybe a few hours of avoidance would help. It would’ve been painfully obvious the way he tried not to even be in the same room as Nico but this was an emergency. Just when he thought he was over it, he bumped into Nico in the train and all these memories came crashing by. Nico didn’t seem to be any the wiser.

In fact, Nico figured Will was busy practicing his trick for the anniversary opening. Everyone was.

Will attributed Nico’s apparent indifference to his avoidance as a sign that Nico was not interested at all. That hurt more than Will expected. He was expecting a _lot_ after the initial incident.

It was when he saw Nico bend over to tie his boots for another round of being the scary statue and his jeans hugged his butt in a way Will hadn’t even considered before that he decided to talk to his father. This was getting out of hand. He was agonizing about his feelings that he wasn’t too sure were real. He felt like he was going insane. Feelings – _urges_ – like that didn’t just pop up from nowhere. Right? He must’ve ingested something he wasn’t meant to ingest. There have been instances of recreational drugs in the circus. Will believed that at some point he would get to that stage. But not like this. Not with _Nico_.

Will was so sure it was a fluke. He was losing his grip.

“You’re not going insane.” Apollo told Will after a few days of hair pulling and muttered conversations with himself. “I would know.”

“Somehow, I don’t feel comforted.” Will pouted. “I don’t…This isn’t… I mean it _is_ me. It _has_ happened before. But why Nico? Why’d it _have_ to be Nico?!”

“You would rather it be Bianca?” Apollo reclined on his seat, only a little amused.

Will grimaced. “I rather it be neither of my best friends.”

“What’s so wrong about being in love –”

“ _I’m not in love with Nico_.” Will said through his teeth. That felt like a lie. Why in the world did that feel like a lie? “What.” He said when Apollo started to chuckle.

“What’s so wrong about being in love with your best friend? I’m in love with mine.” Apollo said.

“That’s different.” Will looked down at his shoes.

“How so?”

Will had no answer for that question. He stood in silence. Apollo waited. “I…I don’t want to make it weird. You and Widget…You were lovers before you were best friends. Nico and I…. Well… What if I weird him out?”

“Then he’d be a fool not to reciprocate. You have my genes too. You’re a catch, Son.” Apollo smirked.

“Please don’t say that again.”

Apollo raised his hands in surrender. “William. You’re a special brand of asexual. You feel what you feel. What you’re experiencing with Nico is your normal. It’s part of who you are. Unlike your dear old dad, your heart takes the lead instead of your dick. I think that’s beautiful, don’t you?”

“It’s not that, Dad.” Will sighed. “It’s Nico. What if he doesn’t see me that way? I’ve had a couple of people do that to me. Tell me we’re only friends. Tell me that getting into a relationship with me would probably ruin our friendship. Tell me they like me too much as a friend, as a brother. For so long, Nico was that. I didn’t even _think_ that it would be possible for me to feel this way about him until…” Will waved his hand and let it fall limply.

“What do you want to do?” Apollo asked.

“I’d rather not talk about _that_ with you.” Will crossed his arms, still looking away.

Apollo laughed. “Son, cut your old man some slack. I’m not a perv.” Will arched an eyebrow. “Answer the question, William.”

“I want to kiss him. I want to cuddle with him again. I want to wake up in bed, cuddling him, and then wake him up with a kiss.” Will answered.

“Then what’s keeping you from trying?” Apollo asked.

“Have you not been listening to me?” Will exclaimed. “If this becomes weird, I’ll lose him. If I lose him, I lose Bianca. I can’t risk it!”

“But what if it doesn’t become weird?” Apollo leaned forward, fixing Will with a look. “What if he reciprocates? What if he wants to kiss you back? What if he wants to cuddle again? What if he does that? Can you risk living a life bemoaning and regretting not telling him? Can you risk living a life seeing him with someone else?”

Will had nothing to say. His mind was racing too fast for his mouth to catch up. His chest was constricting at the thought. Nico? With someone else?

“If you really are best friends,” Apollo continued, “he wouldn’t let this get weird on the off-chance that he doesn’t feel the same way. Have faith in your friendship, at least.”

Apollo was right. Will needed to trust the bond he had with Nico. They were best friends. A bump like this, though big, was nothing compared to the friendship that they had. It was easier said than done, telling Nico. The mere idea of it made Will’s knees shake and buckle. But if they couldn’t get past this, they needed to reevaluate the type of friendship they had.

And so, Will mustered up some courage, conjured some flowers, and waited a day to psych himself up. He was going to take this risk. He didn’t want to regret anything in his life. Like everything he did, he was going to dive in head first. It might hurt but at least he would look back and say he’d done it instead of saying he wished he’d done it. Worst case scenario would end with them laughing about it in the future. Best case scenario would end with them laughing about it in each other’s arms. Either way, it seemed pretty okay.

Though he did it with a smile on his face, as soon as he was out of Nico’s sight, he ran to collect himself. He had three hours until dawn to do that.

It felt too short.

Meanwhile, Nico stared at the flowers Will gave him with a mix of elation and confusion. He wasn’t sure what to make of it. He supposed flowers were romantic. Then again, Will was doing some sort of gimmick. The prevailing theory was that Will was trying to make Nico’s podium seem more approachable with flowers. It worked, of course. His statue never changed until Will Solace gave it flowers. He let himself think it was romantic for some time then tried to ignore it and went back to scaring people.

Until, of course, dawn broke and he opened the card attached to the flowers. There was a heart. Nico blushed, glancing around, wondering if Will would come as he always did to help the statues down. He didn’t. Someone else came in his stead. Nico looked at the heart again. Then at the flowers. He still didn’t know what to make of them.

Hope made his heart stutter. Was this a romantic gesture? An actual romantic gesture from the one person he spent too much time and emotion pining for? All signs said yes. But Nico didn’t want to have any of it. This was a gimmick. This _had_ to be a gimmick. Will was having his usual Will-fun-time. Flowers didn’t _have_ to be romantic.

 _But what if? What if? What if?_ He thought then stamped down then thought again. This cycle was broken when he walked into his room.

Will was sitting on his bed with Iris on his finger. He sat erect when he noticed Nico. Iris flew off, turning a happy, kaleidoscopic pink though neither of them noticed. “Hi.” He said.

“Hi?” Nico stood like he was on the podium again.

“Do you like the flowers?” Will asked.

Nico looked at the flowers then back at Will, unsure of how to react. More signs pointed to romance but Nico couldn’t believe any of them. It seemed too good. It seemed too far from his reality.

Will bit his lips. “Nico?” Was he right all along? Was Nico figuring out the softest way to let him down? Was this the part where things get awkward for a second then they would try to discuss their options of how to proceed? His face felt hot. His entire body felt hot. Shame clamped his throat shut.

“Will. I…I don’t know what to say?” Nico squeaked.

Will hung his head. His racing heart tripped and fell and he did everything he could to keep it from shattering at that moment. “It’s okay. I’ll go.” He stood, holding back tears for later to spare them another layer of awkwardness.

“Don’t.” Nico blurted. Will’s head jerked up. Nico started to fiddle with the bouquet. “Please don’t. Stay.”

“Are you sure?” Will wanted to glow just to show Nico how _relieved_ he was.

“Yeah.”

Both of them stared at one another. Neither of them knew what was happening exactly but they knew it wasn’t bad.

Nico mechanically closed the door then put the bouquet on his desk. It was like watching a statue figuring out how to use their joints after having been breathed into life by their sculptor. Will let himself smile. Nico sat down beside Will. It was weird and awkward but the good variety. They both noticed Iris had turned pink when she flew by them.

“So…” Will cleared his throat.

“Yeah.”

Will decided to do the brave thing and thread his fingers through Nico’s. He was cold but that didn’t last long. Nico felt like he was pink all over the second Will did that. He couldn’t look at Will’s eyes. This was a dream. _Surely_ this wasn’t happening in his real life.

“Do you like the flowers?” Will whispered.

“Yes.” Nico replied, squeezing Will’s hand. Will smiled.

“Let’s be a thing now. Is that okay?” Will eased himself closer.

Nico never wanted to kiss Will any more than he did at that moment. They looked at each other now. Nico felt his heart crashing into his chest, shattering, reforming, then glowing. He reached up shakily. It steadied as soon as he touched Will’s face. Will leaned into it, looking at him the way Nico prayed and hoped and dreamed and yearned he would. “It’s okay.” The word “okay” didn’t quite cut it but he had no other word except that.

“Neat.”


	7. Caution: Horror Ahead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who needs a rollercoaster, really?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Almost done with the last chapter! This fic got away from me. It had more plot than anticipated, but hey, that's the life of a writer. Expect the last chapter in a couple of days or so, depending on the mental stability, that unreliable bastard.

The sign outside tells you:

_Your nightmares will join you tonight_

_Breath fills your fears_

_This tent is not for those who run_

_Not for the faint of heart_

_There are more things to fear than what darkness can hide_

Circus lights don’t reach far into the tent. You’re the first of your group to take the first step. When nothing terrible happens, you take another. On the third step, the darkness swallows your ankle. On the fourth, your hand. You’re already a little nervous but it’s been a while since you’ve been afraid of the dark.

Once you’ve immersed yourself with darkness, as does the rest of the group, you hear the flutter of tent folds closing behind you. Someone screams – part delight, part surprise – when it happens. Someone else screams. It’s coming from farther away. It’s agonized. It’s terrified. It cuts off abruptly. The following silence wrings the noise from the group. You reach for a friend for comfort. It’s so dark that you can’t even see your hand in front of you. You were certain your friend was right beside you. Not so much now.

Finally, you find a shoulder. Yours sag with relief. You haven’t been afraid of the dark for a while but it’s nice to know that someone is there with you.

Except, when a comment about the tent is about to breach your mouth, a hand clamps itself around your wrist. It is not your friend’s hand. The hand is cold. The hand’s fingers dig into your skin. You try to pull away but it won’t let go.

And then there is light. Your eyes meet familiar black ones. They are as cold as the hand holding you in place. You are gripped with so much fear you can’t even scream. Others scream for you. Your knees wobble. A fleeting memory of one of your friends mentioning that the Stranger did not join the other statues that night crosses your thoughts. Another friend joked about the legend that the Stranger has begun stalking patrons to their homes at midnight. You laughed. You shook your head at its absurdity. The circus was never malicious.

Now, you’re not so sure.

The Stranger, with his hoodie, his boots, his calculating expression, and eyes that unshrouded every veil that hid your inner demons, slowly releases his hold on you. You stumble backwards as soon as you’re able. He walks around the ball of light in the middle of the room and moves towards your group. All of you flinch but none of you attempt escape. You somehow know that none of you will be able to find the exit if you try now.

His eyes graze everyone else’s. Everyone looks away. Even the self-proclaimed toughest person cows under his presence though the Stranger is a foot shorter. You see his lips tilt upward in satisfaction. Then he raises his hand. You think nothing happens.

“Guys…” Something does.

All of you face another friend who has a tendril of darkness wrapped around their neck. You say their name. They whimper as two smaller tentacles take their wrists pinning them behind their back. One of you try to free them but the darkness behind your trapped friend extend in a warning. Pulsing red lights outline these living vines of shadows.

An ominous snicker comes from the Stranger. He starts walking to your disappearing friend. “Try to find your friend before time runs out.” This is the first time you’ve heard him speak. It’s higher than you imagined but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that your friend has been swallowed whole by the wall of darkness surrounds you. What matters is that he sounds like he’s enjoying this. What matters is that grin that looks more like a creature barring its teeth, daring you to cross it. “Here, have a watch.” The Stranger tosses a timer from his hoodie.

“What happens when the time runs out?” You ask.

He laughs. The laugh does not comfort anyone. Air turns cold. Hair stands erect everywhere on your body. Your voice dies on your diaphragm. “Do you really want to subject your friend to that?” He says once he finishes his jarring technicality of a laugh. Then he is gone.

It’s dark again. Someone screams and it’s no longer part delight. A quarter part delight, perhaps.

Sconces all around the tent light up with fire. Like the bonfire outside, it’s not the natural combination of colors. Like the bonfire outside, it commands awe. Unlike the bonfire outside, it doesn’t help the chill that has settled in the tent. The flames are black. You can’t comprehend how it gives you vision when you feel as though it’s absorbing light instead of providing it. In front of your group are four closed flaps that flutter in an unfelt wind.

“Help!” Your taken friend shouts. It’s coming from all four entrances.

Behind you, someone screams. All of you turn to the sound. Standing in front of you is a woman. This woman does not have a mouth or a nose. This woman’s eyes are bleeding but in this light you can’t tell if it’s blood or if it’s something else entirely.

“Did you lose someone?” Her too high, too sweet voice grates your ears. You don’t know where it’s coming from. You don’t want to know. “Do you need help?” You blink and she’s closer now though you can’t see any indication of actual movement.

You feel a breath on your shoulder. “You can ask for directions.” Another voice. A deeper voice. A voice that makes your bones rumble in unease. You close your eyes, taking a long step forward. All your instincts tell you not to look but your curiosity trumps that. You wish you didn’t.

A large being with a man’s hairy body uncurling itself from the position it held while whispering to you. It stretches its six, long, sharp claws on each hand as if its height isn’t intimidating enough. It huffs. “We’re very good with directions.” It says with a mangled horse’s head.

“I think I’m going to be sick.” Someone groans.

“My, my, shall we call a doctor then?” Someone giggles. That person shrieks as they run into a cluster of people. Everyone starts inching towards one another. “That wasn’t very nice. I just wanted to help.” Standing in front of them is a sheet ghost. It doesn’t have any of the usual holes for the eyes and the mouth. You’re glad it doesn’t have any blood on it.

“Oh? Is this too scary? I’m sorry.” The part of the sheet where the mouth should be billows with every word. “Here, let me take it off.”

“We’re good, thanks.” Your friend says. You chuckle instinctively. Comfortingly.  

The head shakes no. “I don’t want to be rude. My friends aren’t wearing any masks, why should I?” Steeling yourself does not prepare you for what you’re about to see.

As soon as the sheet falls away, you are met with a nightmare you always seem to forget as soon as you wake up. You see a child. You’re not sure if they’re a boy or a girl. This child is not taller than any of you. Their skin is a fraying gray. Bits of it have withered but manages to cling on. The child’s flesh is not rotting. You’re not sure if it’s even flesh at all. Instead of eyes they have sockets filled with a void. The longer you look at it, the more aware you are of the hidden spectators of this tent. You feel their heavy, penetrating gazes on your crawling skin. You turn your eyes away but you see their smile. It’s empty too. More void, no teeth. A large roach skitters out of their gaping mouth and disappears into their ear. Someone slaps a hand on their mouth to hide a scream.

“There, isn’t that better?” They say. “Now we can talk properly.”

“All you have to do is ask.” The woman continues, closer still, even though your friends swear they never saw her move. “Only one of you may ask one of us.”

“Choose wisely. Some of us do not like being ignored.” The beast’s voice booms. “Which one depends on our mood.” When it growls, its eyes glow a threatening black light.

“Quickly or we will start taking instead of giving.” More blood spills from the woman’s eyes, curling around the space where her mouth should be.

The child starts walking a circle around your group. “Hickory, dickory, dock, the mouse went up the clock…” They continue to sing as you look at your friends for any decisions.

Who’s going to ask first?


	8. Daddy Issues

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New tents bring the most interesting patrons.

_Brighton, October 2013_

A few miles south of _la maison Lefèvre_ is a quaint beach town. In a train that followed the regular rules of the world at large sat a few irregular people around a map that glowed. The sun hadn’t risen when they left London. As they approached the town, the sky started to change color. Dark clouds loomed nearby but they hoped that it wouldn’t arrive too fast. One of them, the more powerful one, pressed a hand on the window to redirect the wind against the clouds.

“You need to teach me that someday.” Will said, awed.

“Definitely.” Celia Clarke, the youngest Clarke, nodded.

Everyone else in their group had fallen into a light slumber when they started to slow and the colors in the sky became more vibrant after some supernatural assistance. Bianca was on Reyna’s lap, warm and content. Reyna managed to be comfortable sitting upright, a skill that Will envied to no end. Nico was slumped against his shoulder. That same shoulder was already aching though he couldn’t bear waking Nico up for his own comfort. Will suffered in silence until the train stopped.

Reyna’s eyes opened immediately, surveying their surroundings. Not many people were on the train but constant vigilance didn’t hurt.

Will stroked Nico’s cheek. “Hey, we’re here.” He whispered. Nico’s nose crumpled, irritated but adorable, and eased himself off Will’s shoulder.

The table shook after a thud. Reyna couldn’t help but laugh and Bianca swatted her jaw from where she laid. Reyna laughed harder. “Fucking table.” Bianca grumbled as she sat up. “Don’t fucking say anything.” She sneered at a snickering Will and Nico.

“And Mom calls _me_ a potty mouth.” Nico obviously wanted to die.

Bianca’s bloodshot eyes burst open and Nico’s hood caught on fire. None of them seemed bothered. Nico rolled his eyes as he brushed the flames away. Reyna kissed Bianca’s temple. Someone walked by just in time for her to see Nico pat the last of the fire away, eyes wide as her mouth.

Her gaze meets Nico’s. “Magic.” He explained. “We’re magicians.” Will smiled on his behalf. The woman stumbled away, unsure of what she just saw. Celia hid a laugh.

As soon as they were on their feet, they regained the momentum that brought them here in the first place. Will climbed out of the train first, exhaling all the way out. Once he saw the beach, he took the biggest gulp of air his lungs could handle, arms spread wide and head thrown back in ecstasy. Nothing could ever beat the smell of the sea in the morning. “Ah, what a lovely day!” Will announced. “Thank you, Celia.” He added as Celia passed him by.

“Don’t mention it, dearest.” She replied.

“Let’s get some coffee before we go on the search.” Bianca yawned.

It was a long year before they got to Brighton. Following the map they created at their father’s arena was no easy task. On top of their duties at the circus and their classes, they insisted on joining the search. From city to city, they asked around with an old picture of Hector in their hands. It was discouraging at first. All of them, the Clarkes, the Murrays, and the di Angelos could sense Hector’s presence in each city indicated by the map though it was always faint. His presence was a chill on Bianca’s cheek. Static on Nico’s hands. A thin veil of unseen smoke around Will. Without a steady trail to follow, they resorted to holding up a picture and asking if anyone had seen him.

It wasn’t easy. Years have passed since Hector was probably around and there was always the chance that he went undetected no matter how dense the city or how unpopulated the town. For the longest time, no one knew who the man in the picture was. They all tried to ask where Hector’s presence was the strongest (even then, sometimes it was barely a whisper), still nothing.

Until they reached Scotland.

Hector was still an taste in the air. No one knew the man in the picture. Then, just as they were about to call it a day, someone recognized him.

“He spent the night in my inn. He looks different without the beard but that’s him alright.”

Then again, in Manchester.

“Yeah, I saw him around. He was a creepy bloke. I could see him walking around my building from my window every morning at five sharp. I couldn’t imagine him without that beard though. Right shame.”

Then again, in Birmingham.

“He slept in this very church once. It was the least I could do. He never made a sound. Never took anything. Never attacked anyone. Then one day he just disappeared before he could join us for breakfast.”

For the first time, Nico and Bianca let themselves hope that they were going to actually find their father in the near future. They’d told their mother, who cried. They tried to divine it since they were close, only to see bits and pieces of a big picture. They went to a new city with a renewed determination that brought them closer and closer to Hector di Angelo.

Brighton wasn’t that big or as hectic compared to the other cities they went to in both of the Americas. Finding a trace of Hector was going to be, presumably, easier.

The group broke into three, going on separate directions after they had coffee in their freezing hands. The couples linked their arms and Celia went on her own. Nico and Will did not actually link arms. Not yet. They were still figuring out what they wanted to do, what they were ready for, and where to put boundaries if need be. Bianca and Reyna, on the other hand, linked arms, called dibs on the area nearest to the beach – much to Will’s dismay – and left. They’d hope to squeeze a little date in the middle of the search. Meanwhile, Will and Nico stood side by side, hands in their pockets, elbows brushing, as they went around town.

By the second block and the third person they questioned, Will switched his coffee to the other hand. “Can I hold your hand?” He asked.

For the first time, Nico let him see the blush that filled the apples of his cheeks. Will was too busy with the satisfaction he felt seeing pink creeping through white that he didn’t notice how Nico’s coffee bubbled in response. “Yeah.” Nico answered. Will grabbed his hand right away.

Nico allowed himself a small smile. This small smile grew with every stuttering beat of his racing heart. Before they could take four steps, Nico’s smile was too big for him to contain. Will noticed it this time. His heart jolted upward into his throat. He squeezed Nico’s hand and Nico squeezed back.

“I feel like an idiot.” Nico said. His cheeks started to burn under a different flame. “I didn’t mean to say that aloud.”

Will laughed. “That’s par for the course, don’t you think?” He swung their clasped hands as they walked, which made Nico happier at the same time more idiotic. “It’s only been, like, three days. I’m sure we’re allowed to feel this giddy for the next six months.” He paused. “Truth be told, I’ve always wanted to see you smile like that.” Will wished he’d known sooner how to get it.

“Shut up.” Nico could not, for the life of him, even pretend not to smile. Nevertheless, Will stopped calling attention to Nico’s smile, mostly because he was afraid of it disappearing if he continued to scrutinize it with such intensity. Where was a camera when he needed one?

Will and Nico’s relationship suffered an awkward beginning. They weren’t yet sure where their friendship ended and where the romance began or if that mattered at all.

Any romantic relationship that lasted, Will believed, had friendship as a base. A person couldn’t be with another for so long if they did not like each other, if they couldn’t joke around, if they couldn’t bicker, if they couldn’t trust one another with shameful stories of high school’s past. Essentially, they were still friends except they also had to find appropriate times for kisses, for hand holding, for arms over shoulders over waists. Their eyes met differently. If they were close enough, Will would touch Nico somewhere – face, hands, chest. If they were across the room, their gazes would linger farther from a smile and a wave. And the kisses. Those were new. At the same time, Will knew that they were still just friends in the end. Friends that kissed sometimes.

Meanwhile, Nico worried about finding that line. He continued to expect Will telling him in the near future that they were better off as friends, that those kisses were a fluke, that this was a dream, a hallucination, an illusion. He hated waiting for it. He hated that it haunted him whenever Will wasn’t around. It was as if he needed to convince Will that they were now more than friends and he had no idea how to do that. Kissing, he figured, wasn’t going to be enough. Other than sex, he didn’t know how to express how Not-Friends they were now. He didn’t want to pressure Will into anything he wasn’t ready yet. He didn’t think proposing and marrying him was appropriate either. Should he give Will flowers too? Should he buy him more gifts? Should he make a romantic gesture the next time the Stargazer is open?

(He shouldn’t. If he showed up at the Stargazer the same way Will showed up in front of his podium, the patrons would have a heart attack. His act gained a much larger reputation he did not foresee.)

But whenever Will was there, holding his hand, kissing him, looking at him in a way friends didn’t usually look at each other, those worries would fade behind the static electricity he felt in each instance. His world narrowed to Will. His mind made a hard left and all he could think about was how this man, this beautiful man, claimed to want Nico as much as Nico wanted him. Will was his _boyfriend_. Will took the first step to this. Will asked for this. This relationship was happening because of Will, without any influence on Nico’s part whatsoever.

Nico hadn’t yet brought this up with Bianca, or worse, Will. He figured that this wasn’t unusual for someone who was having their first relationship.

They wandered and wondered about this new relationship for a long time. They commented about people giving them looks. They laughed when they pulled a prank on someone in particular that gave them a lecture about propriety when all they wanted was a yes or a no on the “have you seen this man” front. They talked about future dates and double dates with Reyna and Bianca. They discussed flowers they actually liked – Nico wasn’t all that fond of roses, Will found out.

And, just when they started narrowing down which restaurants they wanted to eat lunch at, Nico paused in front a row of stores. The conversation came to an abrupt end. Will didn’t understand what brought this on until he felt it. The air around him was different from the air down the last corner. He exhaled and it was cold. Brighton was starting to get chilly but it wasn’t chilly enough for his breath to fog. At the same time, he could feel the hairs on his arms stand. He turned around, facing the stores. There was a metallic tang to every breath now.

“Here.” Nico brushed past Will to a door on their right. A pawnshop sat behind the door. Miscellaneous items of different sizes hung from the walls and sat on shelves. More valuable items looked at the world behind glass cases.

Nico raised his hand at the door and for a moment his hand met resistance. It was quick. A bubble popping a short moment after contact. He pushed the door open, his steps brisk and his eyes flicking at every direction. “Text Bianca.” He murmured as he ran his hand along a rectangular case. He didn’t know what he was looking for exactly but, like coming across the pawnshop, he knew it’d be obvious.

The owner was there and must’ve said something but Nico was too engrossed with the task that he couldn’t summon the energy to acknowledge anything other than this pull he felt tugging his fingers. There was no direction. This entire shop was the direction. This was the place. He’d never felt Hector’s presence as strong as when he went into the arena. The air was almost thick with him. He popped bubble after bubble. With every layer he went through, his heart was racing faster and faster. The tug wasn’t coming from his fingers anymore. The invisible hook buried itself in his arms, then his stomach, then his chest. This pull became stronger and stronger until he stopped at a glass case in a far corner of the store. Inside was an assortment of jewelry.

At the very back was an unassuming gold ring. Anyone else wouldn’t have given this ring a second thought. It wouldn’t have cost much either. Just enough for a plane ticket, Nico thought but didn’t understand where this bit of insight came from. There was no time to mull that over.

“Dad.” Nico’s breath fogged the case. He didn’t notice he was learning so close.

“How much for the ring?” Will’s voice brought Nico back to the present. “The gold one at the back.”

The owner waddled over and peered into the case. He hummed. “Three hundred and fifty pounds.” He announced.

Will whistled. “Pretty steep.” He said. “Do we get a discount if it’s from his father?” He held up the picture they’d showed everyone else.

The owner barely spared the picture a look. “If you can give me anything more legitimate than a picture and a story, I’ll give it to you for half.” He said with a dismissive hand gesture.

“Or I could just take it.” Nico muttered.

“I could call the police as well.” The owner scoffed. “Either you pay for it or you get out.”

Will continued to stand in place and continued to smile politely. Nico put a hand over the glass, feeling the distinct hum of Hector vibrating in the spaces between his fingers. The owner started to look smug, thinking he could get away with a price that was far from what he had paid a seemingly homeless man all those years ago. Nico looked like he was starving for it, the same way his father had begged him for money, not caring what the amount was. The owner started to imagine what he was going to buy with that sort of profit.

Then Nico waved his hand and the glass shattered.

“What the fuck?!” He jumped. He meant to dive down to where the panic button was but he found himself unable to move. “What the fuck?” He squeaked. Will was still smiling at him, hands clasped behind his back. Behind him, the security cameras the owner just installed began to spark. This was the day he was going to die, the owner thought. The owner was dramatic that way.

“Or I could just take it.” Nico announced as he plucked the ring out. It was warm despite not having been worn in more than a decade. Nico’s heart stilled. He smiled at how his father’s presence seemed to ooze out of it down to his wrist, to his arm, into his blood. If he had any doubts of Hector’s life, this erased the last of it. Hector was close. They were close.

With another wave, the glass reformed down to the last crack. In fact, it was in better condition. He held out his hand and Will took it. “Thank you for doing business with us.” Nico said.

“Free too. You’re too kind, sir.” Will added.

The owner struggled but didn’t say anything. Then everything went black.

Nico and Will went to his fallen body. Will knelt beside his head, still holding Nico’s hand, healing the little bump that was beginning to form behind it while manipulating his memory of the last minute or so. Then he stood.

“Thank you.” Nico said.

“No need to thank me. You did most of the work.” Will replied. He leaned forward. “You were amazing.”

Nico felt feathers tickle his stomach. This week couldn’t have ended more perfectly. He was still flying on the tails of an amazing anniversary night at the circus. He was holding Will Solace’s hand. Now he found what could be an integral piece in his father’s safe return. He was going to have to agree with Will with that one. He _was_ amazing.

“Kiss me?” Nico asked. Will happily obliged, placing his lips on top of Nico’s in one sweet, victorious kiss. Nico wrapped his arms around Will’s shoulders, giggling. Will lifted him up by the waist. He laughed into their mouths. Will couldn’t think of a sound more beautiful. So far, kiss number five was the sweetest – their first kiss a close second.

Someone cleared their throat, forcing Nico and Will apart. Nico was ready to render anyone unconscious if they saw the other unconscious body they were kissing over but his shoulders sagged when he saw his sister, her girlfriend, and one of their mentors. His entire body felt warm all of the sudden under their collective smirk.

“We found your father’s ring.” Will explained.

“I can see that.” Bianca said. Nico blushed more than he’d ever blushed before. He knew that one day he’d be caught kissing his boyfriend but he hadn’t expected it to happen this early. He couldn’t look at Bianca even as she approached.

“You’ll get used to it, I promise.” Bianca giggled, arm outstretched. Nico gave her the ring.

The vision was instant. Nico, Will, Reyna, and Celia disappeared from the store. An item or two reclaimed their now vacated areas. There was noise, a conversation, a car passing by, but they all sounded like she was hearing them from underwater. The man on the floor was standing a few steps away. On the other side of the counter was another man. His clothes were falling apart. If Bianca squinted, she could imagine what they looked like before the man had slept on unforgiving surfaces under unforgiving climates. He was frail. She could see the veins right under skin that was clinging desperately on his bones. His black hair was dull and fraying. The beard was unkempt with some bits of litter tucked into it. Bianca’s insides felt brittle. Every inhale made her crumble. She watched as Hector exchanged the ring without even a glint of regret in his flat, brown eyes.

The man pocketed the money and admired the ring for such a steal. Bianca turned to the sound of the door closing. She didn’t watch her father walk away. She saw a calendar.

“June.” She gasped when the vision ended. The ring was digging a hole into her palm. She could hear every step her companions took toward her. She could hear Reyna’s stoic concern. She could hear Will’s questions about her well-being. But her eyes fell on her brother’s. “Dad was here just four months ago.” Everyone went silent. They all exchanged wide-eyed stares. They were closer than they thought.

All five of them spent the train ride back to London pouring over the enchanted map. Every word, every move, tripped with excitement. For the longest time, there was nothing. There weren’t any leads apart from the arena and then the map. Then _this_. Nico’s and Bianca’s minds raced too far ahead. A reunion. Their mother’s face breaking in surprise, elation, and relief. All four of them together. They would know. Hector could explain why he left, why he disappeared. Family dinners. Family outings. Hector helping Nico and Bianca understand the full inheritance of their abilities. The trajectory of their lives never took such a steep incline. Nothing could’ve compared to the idea of being part of a whole again. Despite going to Brighton right after the circus closed for the day, the exhaustion was burned off by this development.

Neither of them could focus long enough to use the ring to narrow down their search. It was only after an hour of gleeful daydreaming that they finally used the ring to create a timeline on their map of the last four months as well as attempt to scry for Hector once more.

Bianca’s face broadened with joy when the thin pillars of light began dwindling from a dozen to a handful. All of them situated around Europe. After a few runes were drawn and a couple of incantations were exchanged, the ring swung from a ribbon Celia had summoned. Nico held tightly as the ring tugged him to Finland, then to Spain, then to Italy, then to Romania. Then the ring twirled around Europe. More and more spires of light reached upward until Europe was doused in it.

“We need a bigger European map.” Nico commented as he pulled the ring away.

“Someone make this train go faster.” Bianca said, slumping back into the seat.       

“You two need to rest.” Celia said.

“No we don’t.” The two of them grumbled, almost in sync.

“Yes, you do.” Celia repeated kindly. “You’re running on fumes. You’ll be more capable of finding your father if you’re well-rested. Magic doesn’t just replenish itself you know.”

“I read somewhere that you can.” Nico retorted, though without much force now that he’d stopped using every little bit of strength he had to narrow down their search. “All we need is a bit of blood and the still warm heart of a black stallion.”

Bianca looked up. “We’re by the countryside. There’s bound to be a black stallion here somewhere.” Reyna put a hand on Bianca’s shoulder, easing her back to her previous, lethargic position while shaking her head.

“When did you read that?” Will asked. “ _Where_ did you read that?”

Nico patted Will’s hand. There was no use attempting it now, not with that look Celia was giving him. “It’s better if you don’t get your hands on that book.” Still the temptation lingered in both di Angelos. Up until they found their beds and passed out.

* * *

_Cape Town, January 2014_

Earlier that day, a few patrons passed by the Circus of Dreams, as if they would be the first to see the circus open its gates in the morning instead of night. There was always that flutter of disappointment when they see it sleeping. That flutter turned into a heavy beat when they saw the sign announcing the circus would be closed for inclement weather.

These passersby looked up at the clear blue sky. Some scoffed. Some laughed. Some swore they haven’t seen rain in _years_. Local _rêveurs_ argued otherwise. Everyone disregarded the day’s weather report, including the weather reporters themselves. They prepared their umbrellas and their jackets. Those who hung their laundry to dry sighed with relief and were glad to have a couple of hours freed. It was only the hardcore skeptics that went out unprepared. These were the type of people no one really liked to invite to social gatherings. Someone must be playing a prank, they said. We highly doubt that a circus has the right equipment to make such announcement, they said. All the other circus predictions were coincidences, they said.

There was something quite satisfying standing beside one of these skeptics as rain tumbled out of the sky. From drizzles to drops. From downpour to drown-worthy. These skeptics would purse their lips, as if this would stop them from admitting they were wrong.

Really, one hundred and twenty-seven years of coincidences? No one should argue with math like that.

Later that day, a few patrons passed by the Circus of Dreams. Mostly adults. Some of them children. Both ages pouted and sighed. One night taken away from them because of the weather. The universe felt cruel then. The primary reason being: the new tents. It wasn’t every day that the circus gained a new attraction. And it wasn’t every day that the people of Cape Town and those who followed the circus to Cape Town got to witness a new tent’s grand opening. It was natural that they felt cheated. Underlying that mild scorn was the anxiety of wondering if the circus would leave when they opened their eyes to sunlight.

While patrons fretted and cursed the rain, the members of the circus praised their newest additions.

Bianca, Nico, and Will aimed for one new tent. They created two.

The first one was borne out of desperation to be different.

There weren’t a lot of things they could put into the circus. Everything seemed to be said and done. In a circus full of whimsy, they figured it would draw more attention if they created the opposite. Their horror tent took more planning than they thought. It wasn’t enough to have an illusion jump out the shadows. It wasn’t enough for Nico’s Stranger to follow a patron’s every move. It wasn’t enough just to create another Labyrinth. It needed to adapt. Creating a tent that did that with the amount of people that went through the circus’s entrance was no easy feat. As much as possible, the three of them didn’t get help from their mentors. They could not believe the amount of horror movies and horror novels and thrillers they had to consume to get the Nightmare Tent up and ready.

The second one was borne out of a joke.

Though they had a dozen feasible ideas, they knew that doing them all would take more time and energy that none of them had between sleep and work. Then, during a three-way idea block, Bianca griped about the Stoll brothers pranking people by putting their things in secret places. People were coming to her for the last week because of them. Nico offered his services but Bianca waved it off. They didn’t have the time or energy. Besides, she was getting better at summoning their items. Will jokingly suggested that she start charging their circus-mates for her services. That would cause them to turn on the Stolls. Bianca considered it for a moment. During so, she accidentally fell asleep.

The novelty of stealing and hiding wore off for a while. Bianca made it interesting. Castor and Pollux saw it as a challenge to see if they could hide something so well that Bianca couldn’t find it. Thus began the Stolls versus Bianca di Angelo.

It got to the point where the circus was divided in bets – could Bianca find all of the items they lost in the next two months? Most betted on Bianca’s capabilities. There was some who had faith in the Stolls’ ingenuity. There were some near misses, especially since Apollo wanted to level the playing field in favor of the Stolls. Will was not pleased. He had almost a thousand dollars riding on Bianca succeeding.

One day, the Stolls thought they had her. Their side on the bet were throwing more money into the pot. The Stolls had hidden a pair of earrings in a pond a few countries prior. Apollo had manipulated the owner’s memory so that the earrings would not be reported until they had gone too far. Apollo had two thousand English pounds in the pot. He was quite certain he was going to double that.

Of course, Bianca had found a way to summon the earrings from long distances. A rune here. An incantation there. A little boost from her brother. The earrings were in her hands two hours after Poppet mentioned it.

A few people lost a ton of money that day. Reyna bought Bianca something nice with her winnings. Nico and Will glanced at each other, thinking the same thing. There was a tent in there somewhere.

Thus began experiments on how far Bianca can reach and what other lost things she could wring from the ether. It was all in the matter of the right glyphs and the right conduits. Much simpler than the Nightmare Tent but still a hit in itself.

Although congratulations were exchanged, either through hugs or pastries or claps on the back, there was still the matter of an actual party. And it just wouldn’t a party if it didn’t last an entire night.

The inclement weather may or may not be wholly natural.

An array of food and drink flanked the dance floor and tables in the Trapeze Tent. Streamers, ribbons, and lights of all colors hung overhead with the music. The trapeze team helped friends up to do rudimentary tricks. Others danced underneath. Everyone was full of joy and food and alcohol. They were drunk on many things. Company. The mixture of warm scents coming from the tables. The mixture of drinks. The exhilaration of going through the Nightmare Tent themselves. Exhilaration from having a conversation with a loved one long gone.

This was a dream come true for Nico and Bianca. All that time struggling to fit in, struggling to be normal, and struggling not to accidentally traumatize bullies now seemed to be worth this elation. They hadn’t felt more like a part of the circus than they did the moment they opened their tents. Parts of their magic, their souls, were now etched into the circus’s history. At this early an age, optimism blazed within them. What more could they do soon? When they became stronger, what would happen?

Poppet had touched on that in her speech. No one’s eyes were safe when they saw Nico and Bianca. Especially not Will’s , who knew how much it meant to the two.

Still, at the center of their cake was some bitterness.

Due to their work in the circus, the search for Hector di Angelo fell on their elders. As much as they wanted to be in Europe still, they haven’t figured out how to put a great distance between them and the tents before the tents collapsed. There was also the potential for dire situations. Whatever that made their father the way that he was in Bianca’s vision was not magic to be trifled with – prodigious abilities notwithstanding. They settled for regular updates e-mailed to them. Not that much progress was made. Widget, Julian, and Melissa were taking places out of their long list of potential Hector haunts. It was better than nothing, they supposed.

For the longest time, and for the first time, they wished they were someplace looking for their father than being in the circus. The tents and their jobs were good distractions but it was what they thought about before they sleep. It nagged and niggled as they tossed and turned. Exhaustion was what brought them to sleep instead of simple drowsiness. That was why tonight, they were going to set aside their yearning for someplace else to enjoy their party. They deserved it. This was what they wanted and dreamed about. It was all they could do to pay the circus back for not wanting to be in it. There’ll be more days to worry about Hector. He wasn’t an easy man to find. They didn’t expect to find him after getting his ring, they shouldn’t expect to find him now.

Bianca had some to drink. It was useful to dial down her attention span. Alcohol didn’t take over to the point where she was tripping over her ankles and giggling with a face full of ground. She had just enough that whenever she thought of her father, it would only take a well-made cupcake, someone else’s laughter, or a kiss on the cheek to make her think of something else. She was aware of this, at least. She knew it wasn’t healthy but if she wanted to have a good time, she had to make it easier on everyone.

She was successful in that regard. She lost herself in everyone else’s joy and she was reaping the rewards. Her cheeks hurt from all the shared laughter. Her voice was hoarse from talking with all the friends she had made since her arrival. She was tired at the same time never been more awake. She was still glowing after being doused in happiness and pride. She didn’t want to go back worrying about their father.

The last of her energy went to keeping herself upright for “one last song, I promise”. Dawn has started to tease the world with some color and light. Most of the circus has gone back to their rooms, sated and tipsy. Soft music played as Piper sang a song she’d much rather dance to with Jason. Meanwhile, Jason was half passed out nearby. Couples had pushed away the singles off the dance floor. Reyna and Bianca swayed in each other’s arms. Their eyes were dreary from the long night but it wasn’t like they needed to look out for anything else other than one another.

Reyna’s eyes did swivel away for a moment. Her smile widened as Bianca raised her eyebrows, too tired to waste her breath. Reyna’s eyes darted from her to the space behind her. Bianca arched her neck around to catch the tail end of Will’s laugh and a glimpse of Nico’s lips on Will’s neck. She wanted to laugh out loud herself but could only manage a soft chuckle.

“Ah the youth. Flushed with so much energy.” Bianca murmured.

Reyna scoffed. “If you hadn’t drunk that much…”

“Hey.” Bianca pinched the nape of Reyna’s neck lightly. “I am _totally_ sober.”

“You’re not as sober as you think you are, dearest.” Reyna replied.

“You’re just saying that so you can carry me back to your room because you want to feel powerful.” Bianca started to slur in the middle. Reyna pinched Bianca’s waist and she burst into a giggle. “You’re a show off and you know it.”

“I wouldn’t do it if you didn’t like it.” Reyna kissed the tip of Bianca’s nose.

“Too true, too true.” Bianca ends with a yawn. “Do you still wanna make out after this? I feel like we should make out to cap it all off.”

“You’ll pass out the second your skin touches a pillow.” Reyna pointed out.

“Unless you give me enough incentive to stay awake.” Bianca said.

Reyna brought Bianca closer. Their chests pressed against each other and their arms enveloped waists and shoulders. Bianca brushed her nose on Reyna’s cheek. Her body weighed on her. She knew logically that she was just tired but she felt as though Will’s energy was indication that her body was settling into age faster than his was. Then she realized no one could really match that boy’s enthusiasm even if they tried. That thought made her cringe a little. The combination of Will’s enthusiasm and his relationship with her brother created an image that she much rather not imagine.

“Piper’s done.” Reyna said. Another song was playing from the speakers.

“I like this one too.” Bianca protested Reyna’s motion to disengage.

“We’ll have to sleep at some point.” Reyna smiled.

“One more song, I promise.” Bianca replied. “Let’s just enjoy the music. I want to cuddle with you before I’m too asleep to notice.”

Reyna was nothing but fond warmth and smiles. “If you put it that way…” She couldn’t say no. That no disappeared from existence entirely when Bianca grinned and cheered in the smallest voice that could still be heard. She kissed Bianca’s cheek. They continued to sway well into the morning.

Meanwhile, Nico and Will swayed a different kind of sway late into the afternoon.

This was new to the two of them in different ways. Nico was finally experiencing it firsthand instead of just with his hand and the circus’s internet connection. Will was finally experiencing it.

Their first time was a lot like a good pun. Awkward, a little painful, glorious.

There was a huge difference between watching strangers do it on camera and actual doing it. Will watched twice – one with same sexes and one with different sexes. Both of which weirded him out. He was anxious that he would also we weirded out with Nico but that was cast aside with their clothes. Once they got through the first two parts of a good pun, Will thought he could do it all day long.

Nico was prepared (he had been prepared since the very beginning) and was willing to direct, which made it easy to find a rhythm. Will didn’t have time to question his knowledge. The first climax was gratifying. The second one thundered up their spines and coated their mind with a pleasured haze. The third one rocked them to sleep on top of one another with tired, content smiles on their faces. Will woke up not expecting a fourth for a while but gladly requested one when he considered the time.

He didn’t take into account how determined Nico was to drag it all out.

Will filled the room with light. His back arched. His fingers clutching Nico’s head. He was too breathless to create praise with his voice. Nico took his mouth off him. Will relaxed with a long sigh that signaled his extinguishing glow. He didn’t open his eyes. He heard Nico gulp down a glass of water and then reminded tender skin of last night’s kisses that were too eager. Nico nibbled on one right above the collarbone nearest to the hollow of his neck. An echo of lightning speared through him. He opened his eyes when Nico pecked his lips.

He met Nico’s eyes but he couldn’t help but glance at his adept mouth. Nico smiled. Will was surprised how his body could still brew a storm after all those times. While he knew that he could experience such arousal, it was never for this long. He didn’t know he was capable of this until it happened. He already accepted that he was not going to be part of the majority. He prided himself in it. Then Nico changed that. Hours have passed and he was still feeling the aftershocks on the tips of his fingers. Where their skin met gave him a quiet rush.

He amended in his head that he still wasn’t going to be part of the majority in other areas.

“How was that?” Nico murmured.

“Very nice.” Will answered, caressing Nico’s cheek. They kissed once more. “How did you – I mean – where did you – heh.” Will rubbed his face. “Words are things. How do you know how to do that?”

Nico giggled and it was a beautiful sound. “Daddy issues.”

“Oh my god!” Will laughed.

“Did I say ‘daddy issues’? I mean porn. Lots of porn.” Nico turned pink but he wasn’t that bothered. Will continued to laugh. This was the opposite of a problem. Nico nestled underneath Will’s chin. Will’s fingers trace lines along Nico’s bare back. They stayed in content silence until the urge to get out of bed proved too loud to ignore. Neither of them thought that would happen for a while. Reyna knocked on Will’s door five minutes later.

“I know that this is a special time for you two but you missed dinner/breakfast and the circus gates are opening in thirty minutes.” She announced. She knocked again. “Make a non-sexual noise if you understand.”

“Fuck off.” Nico groaned.

They both heard Bianca laugh from the other side, which was more embarrassing than they thought. “She asked for a ‘non-sexual’ noise, Roach Boy.” Bianca said. “Or are you still high from each other?” She made kissy noises through the door. Nico could only imagine who else was witnessing this.

“Hector di Angelo is still missing!” Nico called.

Bianca snorted. “Yes, they’re definitely finished.” Will’s bed shuddered in response. “Get up. Remember, we’ve got tents to worry about now. We’ll do the cherry popping debrief over lunch, okay?”

“You’re the worst!” Nico replied.

“I’m just doing what big sisters do.” Bianca sang and she walked away with Reyna.

“Cherry popping debrief?” Will’s eyebrows scrunched up.

“Save yourself.” Nico kissed Will’s cheek one last time before getting up.

“Wait, let’s be responsible and shower together!” Will followed him.

Nico grinned to himself.

He didn’t think he could ever be happier. Of course, finding Hector and making the family whole again would definitely be his happiest moment, but for now…this. Tents in the circus. Working in the circus. Learning more magic. Becoming more and more powerful. Will’s love. He felt so stupid for doubting that one for a second. Best friends made the best boyfriends.

None of these were going away. No one could take that away. And when they got Hector back, he was going to hold on tight. Nico was going to make sure of it. He was going to be happy goddamn it.

* * *

It was not unusual for patrons to rush through the circus after losing a night to the weather. It was also not unusual for others to stroll. These were the ones who knew that rushing would not enhance the experience any more than planning. They walked around at their leisure. Sampling tents when they could. Enjoying the treats if they weren’t sold out. Admiring the magic that held the circus together.

One patron, however, was more interested in the new tents than he was everything else.

He was older than the circus. Not everyone could guess that, given the man’s lack of age defining features. Anyone in the know would be able to pick up certain aspects if they observed him for longer. The tilt of his chin. His blasé expression. The set of his shoulders. The ring on his index finger – a coat of arms with a swan at the center. His voice, which was doused with a confidence that could not be cultivated without reaching a certain age. The strength of his aura.

He knew the circus. He knew the people responsible for the circus. He knew what happened to those people. He knew how the circus was saved. What he didn’t know was how Hector di Angelo’s magic was here.

For a moment, he had wondered if Hector escaped. He was certainly powerful and determined. The combination of the two was dangerous. Any man worth his magic would’ve found a way out. Then again, he was more powerful, more determined, and had more reason to put that bastard down. That was a deadlier combination. Hector couldn’t have. He shouldn’t have. He wouldn’t have.

Then why? Why could he taste dry, no nonsense air? How could there be an itch of him on his exposed skin? Why was that distinct thrum billowing along the circus tents? Could it be his children?

The man shook his head. It couldn’t be. They couldn’t have survived. It _must_ be Hector. And if it was his children, that meant Hector managed to escape _and_ break the curse somehow. He didn’t like his curses being broken the same way he didn’t like being beaten.

He walked along the tents, following the smell of Hector’s magic until it led to a tent in the deepest black. He stood by the entrance. No one else knew that there was an entrance whenever the tent was in use but it was a rudimentary cloaking illusion. Even a child magician could see it.

The sign above was written in the same looping, pretentious script as every other attraction – Nightmare Tent, it said. The sign below it, in a less pretentious script as every other attraction, said:

_Your nightmares will join you tonight_

_Breath fills your fears_

_This tent is not for those who run_

_Not for the faint of heart_

_There are more things to fear than what darkness can hide_

The man chuckled. How predictable of Hector. He could even hear his poor attempt at a deep, ominous voice.

A seam split along a wide white stripe. This was followed almost immediately by a group of teens running for their lives. When they got a look of their surroundings, they drop to their knees, their hands, and their heads. They praised the lights. They praised each other. They praised the tent. They laughed. A crowd had been summoned by their melodrama. He had no time to listen to their rave review of the circus’s one dark corner. He stepped aside towards the queue. Everyone was too engrossed by the teens’ tale that they didn’t notice the tent’s entrance open seductively. The dull scent of Hector’s magic bumped through his chest. His fingers twitched. A spark appeared around his hand, making him clench his fists.

Knowing that the others would want to get their taste of the tent as soon as they know what they were in for, the man stepped into the darkness.

The man liked to think he was prepared for everything. Being alive for as long as he had, not much was able to make him quirk a brow. Inside wasn’t as stupefying as the patrons claimed. A ball of light. Black interior. Black grass. Cooler air. That sensation of being watched from every direction, even from below. Especially from below. It was underwhelming. He almost yawned. This was unfair, he amended. He’d stepped in while the tent was inactive. Despite his many faults, Hector wasn’t uncreative.

“Hector di Angelo.” The man said. A slight breeze glanced his shoulder, the dark fabric shimmering with the name. The man felt a push back. A response. An acknowledgement. There was a tight threat in there somewhere but he couldn’t be sure. “Hector, please.” The man smirked. “I know we parted in such ugly ways. They seem uglier to you, I imagine. Me trapping you. Me cursing your children. Death obviously suits you more. Let’s not beat around the bush here. Let’s have that nice closure.”

The tent flaps fell. Its dark walls seeped into the air around him. “How about we beat around it a little bit longer.” The voice wasn’t familiar. There was Hector’s gentle tone. It was tinier. Lighter. Younger. Angrier than Hector often expressed.

“You’re not Hector.” The man commented.

“No, I’m not.” The air around the boy felt like Hector from before, the man realized. Untrained and unhindered. Palpable with every emotion. He could feel it all. He was somewhat embarrassed, not realizing that it was the wrong di Angelo from the moment he sensed it. He was somewhat annoyed, more at himself than anyone else, for making such a novice conclusion. He was amused when he noticed that the boy was trying to trap him.

“Do you think you can keep me here?” He smirked.

“Yes.” The boy replied.

He chuckled. “Cocky. I admire that.”  At that moment, he could think of a dozen different ways to get out of the younger di Angelo’s trap. Most of them would cause damage of varying degrees. One was quiet but ultimately not fun at all. And, since this was Hector’s son, he deserved as much mercy he’d given Hector the first time around.

“Goodbye now.” The man said, after choosing a humiliating method of escape.

“Yes.” The boy said.

A flash of diverse glyphs kept the man from doing anything to the tent and its magic. The ball of light extinguished itself. He tried to rip the tent and its magic apart, as he’d done before, but he found that he could not. There was a larger current of magic he did not foresee. Light mingling with dark. A steadying force outlining it all. Hector was the only the first layer.

This realization took his attention long enough to give the boy leeway. Fear pierced first his mind. An accumulation of all his doubts, dreads, and distress through his many years flooded him. He took command. These were far beyond his capabilities. He is too powerful to be afraid. Fear should worry about him. But then that flood reached for his chest, seizing his body in an unfamiliar way. Even in the dark, he could feel his vision struggle to swim. The ground underneath him turned uneven.

His anger pushed against that. He would not let himself be controlled! Let alone by a _child_! Hector di Angelo’s child! This was not acceptable!

He fought blindly against the invisible force that was taking him over. Whenever he tried to shake the boy’s manipulation, it grew tighter around his neck. Whenever he made a move to get out of the tent and take this fight to the public, where he knew he could get away, another dam broke within him. Old traumas renewed. Cold regrets rekindled. Memories from long ago upturned and sharpened. Being alive for as long as he had, the boy had no shortage of ammo. The man tried not to show his misery though, underneath all that resurrected pain, he knew that the boy was aware of it. That only made him angrier. Falling to his knees made him angrier. Shaking made him angrier.

The man was too busy trying to regain control over his emotions that he had lost his train of thought. He was too preoccupied by that one goal that when he reached it the damage had been done.

The man never learned that he should not underestimate a di Angelo. Not when loved ones were involved. He never saw how Hector fought his curse for his children. He never saw how Hector’s son surrounded him with several binding glyphs for his father.

What he saw was an enchanted blade a breath away from his neck. What he saw were bright glyphs circling him. What he saw was a woman with hair as red as the day she was born. What he saw was her husband, the undeserving Proprietor. What he saw were Hector di Angelo’s children. He was all over them. He was in their dark expressions. He was in the vibrations between them. What he saw was that shimmering power that complemented the di Angelos’ magic. He was standing behind them, closer to the boy than to the girl. Further back is a more familiar face.

The man smiled. The blade pricked his skin with such precision that he smiled at the girl who wielded it.

“Reyna.” Bianca said. “Please.”

Reyna kept the blade where it was. Blood seeped onto the metal.

“Apollo.” The man said.

The children moved their undivided attention from the man to Apollo.

Apollo did not twitch. “I should’ve known it was you, Zeus.”

“Is that any way to talk to your father?” Zeus said.

Will stiffened but betrayed nothing else.

Apollo continued not to twitch. “What did you do to Hector di Angelo?” He asked.

Zeus glanced at the runes. He glanced at the blade that vibrated with an enhancement as old as he was. He glanced at those waiting for him to answer. “Nothing.” He said. Reyna almost cut his head off. Nico almost made the tent explode.

“Zeus.” Apollo’s gaze hardened. “We are not giving you a choice. You might be powerful but you’re trapped and outnumbered. I know you value your life more than anything else so tell us or we force it out of you.”

Zeus would’ve laughed if it hadn’t been for the fact that Nico single-handedly backed him into a corner. He knew when he was beaten. He didn’t have to like it but Apollo was right – his life above everything else. “I’m telling the truth. _I_ did nothing to Hector. Whatever happened to him, he did to himself.” He said.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN?!” Nico shrieked. A few runes around Zeus glowed. He wasn’t much for rune magic but he was familiar enough to know that he wasn’t going to live past their detonation. There was mild comfort knowing that neither will the others.

“Nico!” Will grabbed Nico’s wrists. “Nico! Be careful!”

“TELL US YOU BASTARD!” A gust of magic blew out of him. Runes glowed brighter.

Reyna raised her sword not out of her own volition. Poppet, Bailey, and Apollo, surprised, jerked toward Reyna, who was trying her best to keep her arm from swinging. They all said his name, desperate and afraid. He was too fixated on Zeus’s death that he chose not hear them.

The sword rose higher. The blade turned to a perfect, head-splitting angle. Reyna grabbed her wrist. Apollo muttered a protection spell. Bailey grabbed her wrist. Poppet tried to push her away from Zeus, who looked amused but was actually angry and terrified. Angry because he was terrified. Angry because Hector di Angelo’s son might be his cause of death.

“YOU TELL US RIGHT NOW OR –”

“STOP.” Bianca’s magic seized Nico’s out of the air.

Reyna slackened in Poppet and Bailey’s grasp. After a squeeze on Nico’s shoulder, Bianca rushed to Reyna. Her fingers brushed Reyna’s cheek, concern welling in Bianca’s eyes. Reyna smiled, shaking her head in assurance. The tightness in Bianca’s chest eased slightly. She didn’t want to see some of her visions come true.

“I think it’s better if Nico isn’t –” Apollo started.

Bianca interrupted. “No. I need him here. He just needs to keep himself from killing anyone.”

“For now.” Nico grumbled. Everyone gave him a stern look, except Will, whose sad eyes made Nico feel that spark of guilt that hid behind his rage.

Zeus opened his mouth to speak. Reyna immediately put the sword back against his neck, right on the same cut. He glared at her. She was not intimidated.

Bianca faced Zeus. Unlike her brother, she held her emotions against her chest. All indications of them were only evident in the rigid way she stood and in tight lips. Her aura was also diffused, leaving Zeus with no way of talking his way out through her.  The blade kept him from talking his way out through anyone else.

Bianca, however, was surprised by her own restraint. She wanted to take the blade from Reyna and swing. She wanted to punch and kick and claw the answer out of his throat. She wanted to step on him, grinding for information until there was nothing left. Having Nico around would keep her from doing so. He had enough rage for the both of them. If Zeus continued to be uncooperative, she would join him. For now, she had to be the one to keep their hands unbloodied.

“If you didn’t do anything to him,” Bianca said, “can you tell us what happened at least? Please.” She was surprised she didn’t vomit.

Zeus was surprised she said it at all. “Took after your mother, I presume?”

“Can you tell us?” She asked again. Zeus pondered her words. Bianca pondered hers as well. From the way his jaw eased and his eyes became thoughtful, she knew that this interrogation was going to take the better part of the night. Her patience was more brittle than she assumed it would be. She didn’t know if she would last verbally sparring with Zeus. Nico was still frothing in the mouth, so to speak, and she considered letting him loose for a moment as a tactic.

But then Zeus said, “Fine. I’ll tell you.”

Bianca blinked a few times. She looked at everyone to confirm that she didn’t hallucinate or suffered a telepathic attack. Everyone was as bewildered.

Zeus laughed. “It’s not like I have anything better to do.” He gestured to the glyphs. “I know when I’m beat.”

Apollo snorted. “That’s a first.”

“Do you want to hear it or not?” He grunted.

“Let’s hear it.” Bianca said. A few honestly glyphs lit up on the ground. Apollo and Poppet murmured truth spells until everyone could taste it in the back of their throats.

“Smart.” Zeus commented, compelled. “Unnecessary but smart.”

“Necessary.” Apollo said.

“Start.” Bianca said.

“Hector was my student.” Zeus said. “Back then, he wasn’t called Hector but that’s not important. What was important was the magic that oozed out of him and I was going to be the one to harness that. He was intelligent on top of being powerful so training him was easy. He had a temper, like you.” He nodded at Nico. “But under my tutelage, he used that to his advantage. Soon, I had to let him go. I tried to convince him to stay with me but he refused. He wanted to find his own way. He wanted to live his own life. I should’ve known he would ask for his independence. Big mistake on my part but I was young and I had cared. I let him go. Power like that, I thought, needed the space to grow. In reality, power like that needed to be reined in by someone who was much wiser.

“Over the decades, I heard about Hector from time to time. He didn’t cause much fuss so it was hard to keep track. I took on more students. There weren’t many, as you know, but I was happy to have a small band of magicians loyal to me. Still, none of them compared to Hector. Until, of course, Perseus.”

Apollo scoffed. Zeus was pleased to have gotten a reaction from someone. “Always a jealous one.”

Apollo was about to go on a tirade but Bianca cut through that. “Go on.” She said.

Zeus shot a smile at Apollo once more before continuing, “Perseus was one of my children, yes. And my favorite. He showed so much potential at a young age. When his powers manifested, I swore that every magician could feel his rise. His powers progressed faster than Hector’s did. His control was precise. His effects great. He was invincible, I believed. And most importantly, he did not go looking for anything else. He was content staying with me. Together, we could’ve done great things.” Zeus paused, thoughtful and rueful. “But, like me, he was proud. I was too blinded by the work we had accomplished that I didn’t notice it fester into dangerous forms. Though I told him that he was better, he needed to know for sure. That was how he and Hector crossed paths. Perseus challenged him and Hector was not one to refuse.

“I was confident that Perseus would win. Hector was old. His world weariness stank around him. He was retired. He was out of practice. He also had a family, which was the main reason the competition lasted longer than it should have. Still, all my bets were on Perseus. Imagine my surprise when Perseus was unable to continue. He burned out. Burned away. The rules they’d set kept me from interfering. When he was gone, I was so outraged. My son. My most powerful student. My favorite thing. He was lost and it was all because of Hector. I cursed you.” He jabbed his finger at Bianca then at Nico. “And you. His for mine. Then I trapped him in their arena with Perseus’s ashes so that he had no choice but to suffer your destruction from far away.”

Zeus gnashed his teeth. Perseus’s death taking over his vision three times over. He tried to unbind himself but the glyphs were too strong and he was still too surrounded. Metal bit deeper. If the glyphs didn’t get him, Reyna’s extraordinary blade would.

“Alas, here you are. How he got out and how you lived might be connected but I haven’t seen him since.” Zeus finished. The truth glyphs and spells dissipate.

“Typical.” Apollo said.

“All this because you’re a sore loser?!” Nico growled and Will tightened his grip on his shoulder. “All this because your son decided he needed to prove himself?! What the fuck! What the actual fuck!” Nico continued to swear in Italian. The dangerous glyphs glowed and dimmed as Bianca tried to keep them alive.

“I’m not used to losing.” Zeus said.

Nico surged towards Zeus. His bare hands would have to do. Maybe he could steal Reyna’s sword from her and stab him before she got a chance to do anything. Will pushed him backward. He put his arms around Nico and planted himself on the ground. Nico continued to struggle towards Zeus.

“Can we kill him? _Please_?!” Nico spat. Everyone said his name in reproach. “Don’t tell me you don’t want to!”

“We need him.” Bianca countered. “For now. We’ll use his blood to find Dad.”

“Blood magic.” Zeus smirked. “So you two _are_ related after all.”

Bianca ignored him. “Nico, conjure a knife.”

Just as the blade started to appear in Nico’s fist, a strange sensation befell the tent. It was a quiver in their stomachs. Invisible friction that ran up their arms to their necks to their backs. The glyphs began to dim. Bianca swayed. Reyna was forced to drop her sword to keep her upright. Nico’s body slackened in Will’s hold. Will could hear his breathing become shallow.

Zeus laughed. His binds were weakened enough that he could escape. As he stood, Poppet and Apollo dragged him back to his knees.

“Bianca?” Reyna fisted Bianca’s dress.

Bianca refocused her vision with more effort than she anticipated. “What’s happening?” She exhaled. She saw Nico limp in Will’s arms and forced herself upright. “What’s happening?!” She demanded from Zeus.

He laughed. “Whatever your father did to keep my curse from reaching you is no longer in effect, sweetheart.”

Reyna’s sword flew to her hand and she pressed it on his throat. “Don’t call her that.”

Bianca walked towards Nico. She could hear Will whisper a spell that made an ailment known. She stopped short when it appeared. Nico gasped. His eyes opened with urgency. They met hers and looked down. He saw the same thing.

Bright blue light shone through their clothes, starting from their ankles to halfway up their waists. Bianca’s dress showed more than Nico’s pants.

Cracks of bright blue light etched her skin. She lifted the hem slightly as if to confirm its presence further. Bianca stared as everyone stared. They could not make heads or tails of it until new cracks started to spread. Each one caused a distinct twinge down to her bones. She dropped the hem.

Nico took clumsy steps away from Will. He shrugged off his jacket. On his fingertips, almost following the curl of his prints, were cracks of his own. He yanked his shirt up and saw the moment a large crack sliced its way across his stomach. He bit down his lip to swallow a sound of surprise and pain. Whatever this was, it wasn’t doing them any good.

Bianca reached for Nico. As soon as they make contact, the heady sensation eased. A current of magic gushed back and forth between them, rejuvenating one another. Nico pulled Bianca closer. They both caught their breaths like they had just reached the finish line of a long race. Nico knew Bianca was afraid. And if she was afraid, he knew they were in trouble.

“What do we do?” Nico whispered.

Bianca hated that her first thought was “I don’t know”. She hated that she didn’t know where to begin, what to call this, or what they should do to stop it. She hated that she was going to admit this to Nico, who was desperate for an actionable response. She sought for an answer from Will, then Reyna, then Bailey, then Apollo. Even Poppet shook her head, unable to divine anything at the moment. She was too afraid to be frustrated. She knew they didn’t have much time.

“Bianca?” From the way Nico’s voice dropped the same time another twang of pain hit her right below her chest, she could tell he knew too.

“I –”

“– them both, Murray! How dare you act without my consent?! How can you stand there like I’m not here?!” They did not recognize the voice. Their spines recognized the voice. “Winston! Answer me! My children are in danger! I was so close to destroying that curse but you had to –”

“Hector, please! I’m trying to concentrate here!”

“You’ve already ruined _everything_ with your concentration!”

The air in front of Nico and Bianca warped. It pushed and folded and undulated and crystalized into something resembling a face. Eyes closed. Mouth parted. Lush, translucent hair framed it. The eyelids glowed with multicolor lights, still shut.

“Nico! Bianca!” Widget’s voice came from the open mouth. “We found him!”

A tidal wave of emotion brought them under. There was no way to know what pushed them up and brought them down. On the one hand, they were overjoyed. So long they searched for what seemed to be no one. Now, he was in arm’s reach. The last piece to complete the di Angelo family portrait. The past they didn’t think they could uncover fully. The father they always wished they had. On the other, they were most likely dying from a curse said father was most likely protecting them from. Maria got Hector back but she would lose her children. On yet another hand, this wouldn’t have happened in the first place if Zeus acted his age instead of a child who had a toy that wasn’t theirs taken away. All of these were mashed together into one stormy sea.

“Of all the days.” Nico muttered.

“Nico…? Bianca…?” Hector said, voice small and disbelieving. “Widget…”

“Touch the face.” Widget said, oblivious to the cracks on their bodies. The cracks in their magic.

Bianca and Nico obeyed. The face’s eyes opened. They saw. Hector saw. Not one of them spoke. They focused on each other’s faces, everything else was irrelevant. He did look different with the beard. He looked different with the grime. His eyes looked different too. Not in the way that they didn’t look like Bianca or Nico’s eyes but in a way that only Bianca could tell for sure. In that vision months ago, there was a certain detachment. There was sight but there was nothing going on beyond the sight. Now there was. Many a thing went on behind the sight.

“Nico. Bianca.” Hector said again, as if to practice. To remember. He started to tear up. “Nico.” He said with all the emotions that threatened to choke him. “Bianca.”

Nico felt Bianca reach for him so he closed the spaces between their fingers tightly. They ignored their cracks, if only for this moment. Nico tried to smile but he didn’t know if he should. He still didn’t know how to feel in this given situation. Resurrected father. Dying bodies. Murderous rampage. It was all too much.

“Hello.” Bianca said.

“Hi.” Nico figured he should add.

Hector burst into tears. “You’re alive.” He whispered to himself. “You’re alive. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.” He ran a dirty hand across his eyes. “I’m so sorry I left you so young. It was the only way I could save you from the curse that a terrible man put on you. I know I’ve lost my chance at being your father. I just couldn’t bear your deaths.”

Nico looked to Bianca to say everything right the first time.

“You don’t have to be sorry.” Bianca said after a pause. “We…sorta knew it wasn’t your fault. We were looking for you, that’s why we’re in the circus. We wanted to learn magic that way we could have a better shot. The only reason Widget’s the one to save you is that we have tents to maintain at the moment and we’re still figuring out how to do that from a distance.”

“Tents? You’re in the circus?” Hector perked up slightly. “You have magic?”

“Shouldn’t we?” Bianca asked. She smiled when Hector laughed though another crack signaled its unpleasant appearance.

Nico was good at hiding the sensation. Bianca was not.

Hector’s laugh disappeared. His tears stopped. “The curse.” He said. “It’s taking hold of you, isn’t it?”

“Yes.” Bianca admitted.

Hector dragged a hand down his face. “Winston!”

“In my defense,” Widget called, “you were dying and your kids trusted us to save you.”  

With one breath, Hector swore in five languages.

“Please don’t try saving us again.” Nico blurted. “We just got you back.”

Hector’s face jerked to Nico’s at the sound of his voice. Nico wasn’t sure if the pang in his chest was because of Zeus’s curse or a hit from his emotions. Either way, his face didn’t comfort Hector. “I couldn’t even if I wanted to. Setting up my sacrifice took years.” He sighed. “I was so close too. You would’ve been safe.”

“You would’ve been dead.” Bianca said.

“Better me than you. I’ve already lived a life that spanned many generations. My time has passed me more than once.” Hector argued.

“It’s too late for that now.” Bianca argued. “Every curse has a counter curse.”

“This isn’t any regular curse. This is filled with an ancient strength and an ancient anger. It was tailored so specifically to you that even _I_ couldn’t –” Hector cut himself off. He looked past his children and back into his mind. “Only you can break it.” He whispered. “Only _you_ can break it! You were too young back then! But now!” His face broke into a grin so full of hope that Nico and Bianca almost knelt in relief. Then it was gone. Nico and Bianca couldn’t separate their shattering hope from the curse’s elongating reach. It was so abrupt that Nico almost caused the tent to explode.

“What is it?” Bianca asked.

“This man who cursed you. He is older than me. He is more powerful than me. I’m afraid –”

“The man who cursed us is a petty, bitter man. The curse was out of spite. Thoughtless and emotional. They do not make the strongest of curses.” Bianca snapped.

“This curse hasn’t killed us yet.” Nico, emboldened by Bianca, added in the same tone. “Every curse has a counter curse, no matter how powerful the origin.”

Hector’s eyebrows rose with surprise and pride. He rubbed his beard. “Still. A curse like that will need a sacrifice. A _large_ sacrifice.”  

“We didn’t come all this way to die.” Nico said.

“We’ll figure something out.” Bianca agreed.

“I wish…” Hector shuddered. “I wish I could be of more use to you.”

“You kept us alive this far.” Bianca reminded. “We’ll see you soon. Promise.”

“Hurry.” Hector said. “I love you. I love you very much.”

Bianca held back her tears. She took a step back, bringing Nico with her. When the vision disappeared, she ran. He followed.

“Watch him!” Bianca pointed to Zeus. “Be right back!”

“Coming!” Will followed.

“My trust is in you.” Reyna handed the sword to Bailey, who promptly replaced the tip on Zeus’s throat.

They sprinted to the library. Each step ached more than it should have. They started to stumble halfway through. Their vision wasn’t fully cooperating. Will and Reyna had to guide them. They felt as though they sped up the curse by exerting themselves though that wasn’t the case. It was a simple effect. The first effect.

“What’s the plan?” Nico wheezed.

“You know that spell I was trying to translate from ancient Chinese?” Bianca faced the lavish library of magic they kept in one of the back tents. Her arms rose with shaky effort. Her unsteady breath would have to do. She let one more crack grind its way up her body.

Nico’s eyes widened. “Bianc –”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.” She said, which was no comfort.

Reyna’s back straightened. “Are you su –”

“There’s no time for certainty.” Bianca interrupted. She casted an apologetic glance at Reyna. There was no time for hesitance either. “Try to remember what I say.” Then she intoned a Chinese spell she’d been working on for months now. Hopefully she said it right.

Nothing happened one second. Everything happened the next. Everyone took a step back.

Books launched themselves through the air. Pages unfurled, alive and flickering. The sound of this kinesis overpowered the air. Bianca’s arms stopped shaking. Words and letters and illustrations and symbols shone. They projected. They blended into one another until they became a wall of dull light. Bianca’s eyes had the same glow. More books flew. More pages flapped. More words and letters and illustrations and symbols.

“I see. Extraction not destruction.” Bianca announced. Her words appeared against the wall of light for a moment in different typefaces. “Words. Words are important. Intent is important.” Instead of what she said, the wall started to spell something else. “Write it.” She commanded. Will conjured the paper. Nico transferred the words on the light onto the paper.

“Burn it when it is right. Say it when it is right.” Bianca said. The letters were chosen and drawn on the wall. “Feel it because it’s true.” Words formed, faded, and reformed. Line after line. The sheet in Nico’s hands mirrored this process.

Then it was done.

“We need the blood of the involved. Blood in our hands. Blood together in our hands.” Bianca said, turning to Nico. “Take as much from him as you like. Blood and pain.” Nico couldn’t help the wicked smile on his lips.

“Simple.” Nico said.

“Yes. Remember your motives. Remember what moves this spell.” Bianca said. The light was gone. The books returned. There was silence. Bianca tilted backward.

Reyna caught her just in time. “Bianca?” She hung limp, forcing Reyna to carry her. “Will.” Her voice hitched. The cracks were farther up Bianca’s body than it was before her spell. “Will, check on her.” She pleaded.

Nico, who had braced himself on a nearby table, pushed himself upright. “She’s alive.” He said after a deep breath. “I would know if she isn’t. Let’s do this.” He walked out of the library.

Reyna would’ve been angry had she not seen the blue that branched over his arms and towards his hairline. Will saw it too. They shared a worried silence.

This was the second effect.

“Let’s go.” Will said, glancing at the blue cracks.

Reyna nodded. She allowed herself a tear or two. They fell on Bianca’s chest as she kissed her forehead. “Hang in there.” She heard Will sniffle as he kept the tent folds open. Nico was far ahead of them. Reyna didn’t want to jostle Bianca too much so she went on a small jog while Will ran to provide assistance.

Nico lost no time getting that blood. His thoughts were soggy like his motions. It took all he had now to execute Bianca’s instructions. The third effect was coming faster than expected. Good thing Will was there.

One mechanical step after the other. In some ways, he was thankful that their magical exertion expedited the curse. This way he was unable to think about anything else other than putting his foot in front of the other, conjuring a sharp implement, and making sure the bowl caught the blood. He couldn’t spare the energy to worry whether or not he was powerful enough. He couldn’t second guess the words Bianca dug out. He couldn’t care less about what Zeus had to say about this attempt. He focused on what he was doing and why he was doing it.

Returning the favor. Reuniting his family. A life he wanted to have and to keep.

He sensed Reyna and Bianca’s entrance. “Put her down.” Nico said. His words scratched all the way up and out.

Nico knelt down beside Bianca, having put his blood with Zeus’s. He took great care to slice somewhere that caused the least pain. He also took great care to have Zeus see that he was coherent enough to know where to cut and that his injury was borne out of spite and not of ineptitude.

When the enough of Bianca joined the bowl, Nico looked at the words one more time. He crumpled the paper. He held it above the bowl and smoke appeared. Flames flashed around his fist. This was right.

He put his unburnt hand into the blood. Vision ached. Cracks dug deeper and deeper. Not much time left. If they had shared in the library, he could’ve taken his time. If they had shared, Bianca could’ve been here to help. It should’ve been Bianca, not him.

“Shut up.” Nico muttered. He covered his hands with their blood. He covered Bianca’s hands with their blood then held them above her chest.

Reyna looked away. The blood made her look like a murder victim.

Nico tried his best to steady himself. He pushed the outside away. He sought his voice. He dredged up magic from every corner of his being. Intent into words. Truth in the feeling. Mean it all.

“We are free. This curse is free. We are free. This curse is free.” He started because it was right. “What was given will be returned. What fell will fly.” His hands twitched and tightened around Bianca’s. “What unraveled will be rewoven.” He pushed the inside outside. “What was infected –

“– will be purged.” Suddenly, an echo. Suddenly, strength. Nico opened his eyes to meet Bianca’s. Bianca opened her mouth to meet Nico’s voice again. “We are free. This curse is free.”

Nico’s grasp cut circulation from Bianca’s hands. It didn’t matter. There were more pressing problems. “We are free. This curse is free. So it shall be.” His entirety quivered but Bianca settled him.

“Once more.” She whispered. “The two of us.”

And they did it once more with the two of them.

“Third time’s the charm.” Nico started to smile.

Third time was the charm. It was true.

Their new, glowing veins burned. Bianca and Nico clutched one another as the curse was reluctantly pried out of them. One of them screamed. Or both of them screamed but it sounded the same. No one came to placate them. No one could. The curse’s physical manifestation was as infectious as an epidemic. It was in its nature to branch out. Everyone pressed themselves against the farthest corners of the tents.

Zeus screamed but no one cared.

Just when Nico thought his skin was going to melt off, the last of the curse left him with a mild jolt. Bianca went slack. Nico looked up to see the curse search for purpose. It swirled in the air. Rattling claps of thunder followed the sharp whip of lightning. They were free from the curse but the curse still existed.

Zeus laughed and Nico wanted to snap his neck.

“You can’t destroy what I created! No one is powerful enough to beat what is _mine_! Not your father, and especially not you!” Zeus taunted. “It will need to feed. And if not you, then the circus!”

At his words, Nico could already see the curse burning holes through the tent that he had created with Bianca and Will. He could imagine what came next. White fire extinguished. A labyrinth crumbling. The Ice Garden melting. A carousel malfunctioning. A clock breaking. People dying. They were so vivid that they could’ve been visions of a future where they couldn’t stop the curse.

“Feed.” Nico repeated to himself. “Feed on magic, you say?” He stood and the blood in his hands disappeared. He raised his arms to the curse as he walked towards Zeus. The branches returned to Nico’s hands on a whim. They reached for his skin but could not make contact. Any curse in their physical form was subject to whoever called to it first.

Zeus did not think of that until he saw Nico doing it. “No.”

“You should talk less.” Nico said. It wasn’t easy with this curse. It fought for a host. It fought for its purpose. He fought back. With Bianca out cold and the spell used, he wasn’t sure if he could survive its return.

Returning the favor. Reuniting his family. A life he wanted to have and to keep. Intent. These were not enough for him to carry it.

Zeus was too powerful. The curse was too powerful.

Nico started to fall to his knees. The blue tendrils made their way into Nico’s palms and he whimpered. Bianca was supposed to be the one to do this, not him.

Then he felt a flash of light in his chest. Warmth eased the pain in his skin where the curse began to touch him. A rush of golden energy glossed over him, strengthening his resolve. He smelled the beach. He smelled their morning. Will kept him from falling.

“You’re almost there.” Will whispered.

“You can’t help him!” Zeus shouted.

“Yes we can!” Poppet’s voice came from the other ear. Apollo was right behind her.

The weight of the curse was now carried by four magicians. Nico felt a tear roll down his cheek. Gratitude breathed new strength into his magic. They were risking the curse taking them to help. They were risking their magic. They were risking their lives. Those two words could not cut what he wanted to mean. Nico had no other words. All he could do was relieve them of this risk as soon as possible.

He shuffled under the curse to reach Zeus. He put his hands on Zeus’s chest. He could see the terror and the defeat and the anguish take Zeus over. His heart was desperate in his chest. It seemed as though it was trying to smash itself against the bone in hopes that it would stop beating. No such luck. Zeus didn’t die when the curse entered him. Zeus couldn’t fight when the curse sensed the immense magic that resided within. Zeus screamed and cried and begged, for the first time in centuries.

He was covered in glowing blue cracks from his head to his feet. He did not crumble. He moaned to himself. His eyes ceased to see. All he had was pain and the void of magic.

“What happened?” Bianca murmured behind Nico.

“You did it, that’s what happened.” Reyna replied in the happiest voice.

It was Nico’s turn to pass out in his boyfriend’s arms.


	9. What Do You See?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You're a very perceptive circus-goer.

You see a man and a woman walking around the circus. They make you smile because of their smiles. Wide, unabashed, youthful. You feel like they’ve been together for a long time. That makes you happy, seeing older adults happy with their significant other. It gives you hope. You think the world isn’t as shitty as you presume it is.

In the Circus of Dreams, no one really pays attention to anyone else. The circus always takes all of it. Somehow, you keep noticing this couple.

It’s all in the matter of coincidence, you believe. Being at the same area at the same time. Being so intrigued by the idea of staying with someone for what seems to be years. You can’t help seeing them any more than you can help yourself from seeing the bonfire.

And their relationship with one another isn’t the most interesting thing about them. It’s their relationship with the circus.

 _Rêveurs_ were not uncommon in these parts but these two seemed to go far beyond that.

You catch performers acknowledging them. A nod. A smile. A fireball that stops right in front of the man’s face. The playful glare. A standing ovation for the young woman in the sword tent, making her smile when you knew she never smiled or even paid attention to the audience. Volunteering for the trapeze. Attention from the illusionist.

You doubt yourself. You’re seeing things. You’re fixating. You’re putting meaning into mundane interactions with the performers.

You see them smile at the Stranger. You catch the man sneaking a selfie with the Stranger. You have no idea how they smuggled that camera in. Is it because it was a film camera? Is it because it was so old? Should you notify someone? The two of them notice your notice. The man grins and puts a finger on his lips. The woman hides the camera. They smile one last time at the Stranger before walking away.

You go up to the Stranger. You are still unsettled by him. You dare yourself to look at his face.

His expression had an amused tint to it. You are surprised. The Stranger never did anything but stand there and be menacing. You find yourself smiling. No one ever smiles around the Stranger. That makes you wonder how the couple managed to change the aura of his area so completely.

You see them exiting the Stargazer while you were entering. You catch the tail end of a conversation. They stopped just as your foot passed the threshold.

The woman smiles at you, tugging at the man’s arm. They smile at the young man with white hair that glowed against the black backdrop. The young man smiles bashfully away.

When you reach the young man again, he does his job. You know he will not answer your questions. Although, his smile seems warmer than the last time you saw him.

You are tired at the end of the night but you can’t go to bed on an empty stomach. You and your friends go to a 24-hour diner. That’s your favorite diner. Though it’s a little ways away from the circus, you can’t think of a better way to cap off the night with your friends.

You walk in. You get a table. You order. There aren’t that many people in the diner. Those who are there talk of the circus. You are happy to hear it all.

You see a family nearby. You notice the couple you’ve been noticing all night. You smile. That must be their children. It’s nice to see a happy family. The world isn’t as shitty as you think it is.

Except. They’re not all their children.

The young woman closer to the man from earlier is nestled against another young woman. She kisses her cheek. They smile at one another. The man took a picture of that. Neither of them notice. On the side of the woman are two young men. The one with black hair is playing with the fingers of the one with the bright red beanie. His legs are draped across the boy with the beanie’s lap. He says something to the one with black hair. He reaches to stroke his cheek. He leans into the palm. The man takes a picture of that too.

“Dad!” The boy with black hair groans.

The man laughs and shrugs.

You continue to smile. A supportive, happy family. Faith in humanity goes up a few points.

Except. That’s odd. You see the young man with the beanie turn. His hair is shock white. His smile is familiar.

Weird. The young man with black hair. He looks like the Stranger. But the Stranger never smiled. His eyes were never soft. He didn’t seem capable of curling gently towards another. He always seemed like a knife or a sword or a guillotine.

You shake your head. It can’t be.

The two young women see you seeing them. You touch the necklace you lost a month ago and got back earlier this week. It can’t be. It is. It can’t be and it is.

The young woman from Lost and Found grins and puts a finger to her lips. She looked like her father then. 

You do not know what to do with this information.

You want to tell your friends but you know how good the other young woman is with sharp objects. You do not dare disobey. You’d much rather have your friends gripe about it than have knives thrown at you next time you visit. You don’t want to know what the Stranger will do either.

The young woman from Lost and Found laughs and pats the young woman who was good with swords on the cheek. She kisses her chin. She forms a heart with her hand. A kind gesture. A promise of safety. She turns to her family as if the exchange never happened.

You glance at their table from time to time. You watch the Stranger laugh. You watch the young man from the Stargazer spill a platter of tater tots. You hear the young woman from Lost and Found ask where her last curly fry went. You hear the young woman who was good with swords chew on the last curly fry faster.

You witness the circus staff be human.

You witness a family, newly completed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I wrote 9 chapters instead of 8 because life's funny that way. Also chapter 8 went on for too long, I believe. (That's coming from the dude who wrote 100+ page chapters that one time.) Anyway, thank you so much for reading! We've reached the end of our 6 month journey! And the end of my fanfiction career for the time being. At least until MAYBE 2018. But who knows?! Maybe I'll be reading fanfiction about my own stories by then! HAHAHAHHAHAHA FORCED LAUGHTER HIDING PAIN AND INSECURITY HAHAHAHAHAHA. I have to admit, this was a challenge because the things I learned in my MFA is telling me to rewrite the whole thing. This is fanfiction. We're all here to have a good time. Thank you again, for enjoying this, for commenting, for leaving kudos. I appreciate every single one of you who indulged this crossover. I hope our paths will cross again.   
> -Joey

**Author's Note:**

> -This is set in a Night Circus world that is the same world of two other fics (Methur and Puckeberry). Unlike those other two, this fic will be a LONG ONE (don't you hate it when a supposedly easy slow burn love story gains a PLOT unbelievable) so I'll be referencing those fics. Don't be discouraged. It'll be slight mentions. You don't have to read those two other fics if you don't want to. Tbh, if those fics didn't exist, I wouldn't be writing this one. I was just bothered by the fact that I have two fics set in the same world but not a third one. The abundance of trilogies I've read REALLY affected me.  
> -There might be smut at some point???????????  
> -I've already written ahead so expect a semi-regular update. Depending on how fast I write this thing, I'll probs be posting once a week or once every two weeks. Hopefully it stays that way. Don't expect much since I'm also in the middle of writing an original as well as dealing with various existential crises pertaining to my life as a writer. Know that.  
> Why am I telling you all this? Well. I think it's important to let you know so you won't expect. Expectations lead to disappointment, after all.  
> This got real blue. ENJOY THE FIC!!!!!!! <3


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